The MEP Mr. Knut Fleckenstein and the rapporteur for Albania at the European Parliament, in the meeting with the Albanian National Youth Network – ANYN, urged the Government to show serious engagement for youth issues. On his part, ANYN requested that the EU Progress Report have a section on the situation of young people in the country.
Tirana, 9 November 2018 – The Albanian National Youth Network (ANYN) held today a meeting with the Rapporteur of the European Parliament for Albania, Mr. Knut Fleckenstein, to address some of the key issues for youth in the country. Representatives of ANYN shared with the MEP responsible for monitoring Albania some of the major concerns on the situation of youth.
Youth in Albania face several challenges, where among the most concerning remains the migration. Gallup’s recent survey on youth in the Balkans showed that almost 80 percent of youth from Albania want to leave the country, almost twice compared to other Balkan countries. The latest report of ANYN and CRCA “Youth in Albania 2017” presented some shocking findings on the youth situation in the country regarding unemployment, the state budget for youth people or their education. Almost 50% of convicts in Albania belong to the age of 15-30 years. The country has no social or justice policy for the age group of 21-30 years!
During the meeting, MEP Fleckenstein urged the Albanian Government to listen to youth. He promised to be alongside the Albanian National Youth Network (ANYN) to promote a broad and sustainable dialogue among decision-makers and youth in Albania. It was also agreed that together with ANYN would organize periodic meetings to discuss about the situation of youth rights in Albania.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Fleckenstein organized a press conference with all the media in the country, where he highlighted the key role that youth should have in policy-making and decision-making. He urged EU representatives in Albania and the Albanian Government to strengthen cooperation with the Albanian National Youth Network (ANYN), to listen to their voice and to include youth in the democratic processes of the country.
