TIRANA, April 14 – Following the pattern of self praise as compared to other countries the deputy PM, Arben Ahmetaj declared in parliamentary plenary session on Thursday that Albania is the only country that has subsidized the price of energy.
“Today there are developed countries like Germany or Sweden that have problems with gas supply or food. We do not live in the international network right now. Tell me another case where energy has been subsidized by the government. There are 200 million dollars that go to subsidize the price of energy for families and small businesses, but also for 7500 medium businesses through price mixing schemes,” he said in Parliament for the Albanians to hear.
He stressed that there is no increase in the price of energy for citizens.
On Wednesday Energy Minister Belinda Balluku said a scheme was being framed according to which those families that consume more than 700 kilowatts will pay according to the market price the extra amount of power.
In a comment on the US State Department report on Albania the deputy premier, differently from his chief Edi Rama described the document as an important working manual, while emphasizing the fact that he appreciated the work done by the government regarding Justice Reform and the fight against corruption.
Rama called the US report a copy-paste of the last year in his critical comment of the report on Wednesday.
US Ambassador Yuri Kim has not yet reacted to the blast of Rama against the State Department.
According to Ahmetaj, the Socialists are not in a hurry as opposition to come to inquisition conclusions, but they refer to the report responsibly and the conclusions are mature, said Ahmetaj, who did not mention Rama’s comment. /Argumentum.al
