ASPA is delighted to announce that on 16 June 2021 established institutional ties with European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), NL.

Tirana, Al, Maastricht, NL, 16 June 2021: On 16 June, the Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA) and the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to cooperate in fields of mutual interest. In particular, the signed MoC allows for:
• the exchange of good practices and solutions relating to the strengthening of operations and professional capacities in the public administration;
• cooperation on joint professional developments programmes; and
• the strengthening of organisational and professional capacities of the parties.

The scope of the new project:
Under the new project, EIPA and ASPA will cooperate on, inter alia, the strengthening of ASPA pool of trainers and exchange of experience and good practices related to institutional developments within ASPA.

EIPA’s history in Albania:
Since the early 2000’s, EIPA has implemented several projects and activities in and with Albania, some within the framework of ReSPA and others supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The latter also supports the now signed MoC, which coincides with the launch of a new technical assistance cooperation project supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

On the occasion of the digital signing ceremony, where each of the parties simultaneously signed an original copy of the MoC, EIPA’s Director General said that “(t)his Memorandum of Cooperation represents an important opportunity for EIPA to strengthen our ties not only with ASPA, but also with the Republic of Albania as well as more generally with the Balkans region.  It also constitutes yet another example of EIPA’s role in the European integration process and how we can support the achievement of national objectives of both current and future Member States.

Director General Maliqi said:
Public Administration is a high impact target group. Their involvement in processes such as: policymaking, planning, legislative drafting, implementation, law enforcement, service delivery, control and evaluation, affects in most of the cases, the progress and the wellbeing of the entire society. People development in public administration is an important mean that governments have toward the achievement of sustainable progress and wellbeing and as such it needs to become a priority issue.

About EIPA
EIPA is one of the longest standing experts in European public affairs, having been established in Maastricht in 1981. EIPA celebrates its 40-year anniversary this year. Its mission is the dissemination of knowledge on EU policies related to EU public affairs to all professionals, with the key objective of further improving their skills and capabilities for efficient management of the policies. EIPA has its headquarters in Maastricht and an office in Luxembourg.
Annually, around 10,000 civil servants from the EU institutions, bodies and agencies, as well as national public administrations, participate in the activities conducted by the Institute, resulting in close to 14,000 days of activities per year. The Institute is supported by the EU Member States as well as the European Commission through its Erasmus+ programme.

About ASPA
The Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA) is a central, public institution responsible for providing obligatory and non-obligatory learning and development services to the central and local government, as well as to the independent institutions. Our institution was established in Tirana in the year 2000, initially organized as the Training Institute of Public Administration (TIPA) and since 2013 as the Albanian School of Public Administration. The purpose of our organization is to support the development of the Albanian Public Administration, ensuring that public employees have the knowledge, skills and experience to fulfil individual and organisational needs. Annually, around 5000 individuals and 17000 participants from public administration bodies participate in our training services.