Albanian parliament approves new government
TIRANA, Albania — Parliament approved on Wednesday (September 16th) the newly elected government and its four-year programme. “We wish the new government good luck, a cabinet which will send the country into the EU,” said Speaker Jozefina Topalli after the cabinet received the support of 74 out of 75 lawmakers present. Members of the opposition Socialist Party were not on hand. They are boycotting the work of the 140-seat parliament over alleged violations in the June 28th elections.
One major topic of the programme presented by Prime Minister Sali Berisha was European integration and meeting the standards necessary to join the EU. He promised to continue institutional reforms, respect human rights, treat corruption with zero tolerance, and reduce administrative perks. Berisha also promised to build new energy and industrial parks, as well as small hydro plants, aimed at making Albania a regional centre of energy production and creating 160,000 new jobs. (Top Channel, Shekulli, Ora News, Alsat – 16/09/09)
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