TERRITORIAL ANALYSIS TIRANA, ALBANIA Association of Albanian Municipalities 2 Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT This territorial analysis is part of the URGENT Project co-financed by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union. URGENT is a two-year project led by ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy (France), and involving 12 other European partners. The aim of this territorial analysis is to introduce the context and characteristics of the target area chosen by each project partner to implement its pilot projects in the framework of the local path of the project. Reuniting three local authorities, four associations of local authorities, four civil society organisations, an academic institution and a foundation, the main objective of the URGENT project is to improve social cohesion in local communities by promoting migrants’ integration through the development or urban policies fostering intercultural dialogue and the use of common spaces. Implemented from September 2016 to August 2018, the URGENT project focuses on “local paths” implemented in one city per each partner country (except in Italy, where activities take place in two cities). During these local paths the cities get familiar with migration issues at local level in order to then elaborate pilot project ideas for intercultural dialogue in deprived and conflicting areas and finally implement these pilot projects on the ground. In between the three phases of the local paths, international events are organised in different countries for partner cities to compare their situation, share problems and potential solutions. There are four main objectives in the URGENT project: Objective 1: To create spaces of discussion and mutual learning among citizens from different socio- cultural backgrounds and from different countries of Europe. Objective 2: To foster active citizenship and co-creation of policies and services n local societies, particularly for citizens who are often excluded from the decision-making processes. Objective 3: To enhance the capacity of local institutions to be “multipliers” in their own communities in order to engage a wide range of stakeholders. Objective 4: To provide a new impetus to the EU enlargement process, contributing to the establishment of a long-lasting thematic network of cities that are strongly active and committed as key players in Europe. Leading partner: ALDA – the European Association for Local Democracy – France Project partners: SSIIM Unesco Chair, Iuav University of Venice - Italy Local Democracy Agency Mostar – Bosnia and Herzegovina Association of Albanian Municipalities – Albania SPES – Associazione Promozione e Solidarietà – Italy SOS Malta – Solidarity Overseas Service – Malta Fundación Privada Indera – Spain Municipality of Kumanovo – Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Amphictyony – Greece Kallipolis – Italy Rede DLBC Lisboa – Portugal City of Strasbourg – France Municipality of Novo Mesto - Slovenia Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Background of the project ........................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Position ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 Context ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Description of the target area: Tirana .......................................................................................................... 9 Migrant population in Albania ................................................................................................................... 12 Refugees & Asylum Seekers population in Albania ................................................................................... 16 Natives in Albania ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Interactions and mutual perception in Albania ......................................................................................... 22 Social and Health services .......................................................................................................................... 24 Cultural, education and religious services ................................................................................................. 27 Commercial services .................................................................................................................................. 29 Housing ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 Accessibility to/from the target area ......................................................................................................... 31 References ................................................................................................................................................. 32 4 Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project INTRODUCTION After World War II, Albania, under President Enver Hoxha, allied itself with the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) (until 1960) and with China (until 1978), and remained isolated until its transition to parliamentary democracy after 1990. General elections in 1992 ended 47 years of communist rule. The transition has been called ‘challenging’ as the government was confronted with ‘high unemployment, widespread corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents’. According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transition Index 2016 (BTI), mismanagement and autocratic rule had disastrous consequences in 1997 when massive pyramid schemes, boosted by money laundering and contraband, collapsed and ‘swallowed up the meagre savings of two-thirds of Albanese families and around one-third of GDP’. State institutions were violently attacked and state structures almost collapsed. After this, Albania, regarded as a ‘weak state’ requiring international monitoring and supervision, was substantially assisted by international organisations to strengthen weak state institutions and stabilise its political infrastructure. The 1998 Constitution was a result of such large-scale international interventions and assistance. In the subsequent years, especially after the 2005 elections, a range of political and governance reforms were initiated. After four rejected applications between 2009 and 2013, Albania was accepted as a candidate for EU member in June 2014. The European Commission (EC) in its Communication on EU Enlargement Strategy 2016 (further referred to as EC Communication 2016), assessed Albania’s progress towards ‘fulfilling all of the five key priorities for the opening of accession negotiations, and subject to credible and tangible progress in the implementation of the justice reform, in particular the re-evaluation of judges and prosecutors (vetting)’, and recommends ‘opening accession negotiations with Albania’. The present document gives a socio-economic profile of migrants and refugees/asylum seekers in Albania based mainly on qualitative but also quantitative research techniques as well as a literature review. The main objective of this study is to describe the characteristics of the vulnerable group, to assist the Albanian Government in the needs identifi cation and to provide some policy recommendations on returning migrants, refugees/asylum seeker reintegration in Albania Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project 5 POSITION 6 Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project CONTEXT Total population of Albania Population in Albania 3 500 000,00 2 870 324,00 3 000 000,00 2 500 000,00 2 000 000,00 1 438 609,00 1 431 715,00 1 500 000,00 1 000 000,00 500 000,00 - Men Women Total Percentage of migrants on the total population and top 10 nationalities Total number of migrants Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Men 4,329 4,748 5,331 5,843 6,686 8,324 Woman 2,286 2,605 2,999 3,248 3,877 4,195 Total 6,615 7,353 8,330 9,091 10,563 12,519 Total 14 000 12 519 12 000 10 563 10 000 9 091 8 330 7 353 8 000 6 615 6 000 4 000 2 000 - 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Tirana, Albania – Territorial Analysis – URGENT project 7 The number of foreigners with residence permits in Albania in 2016 resulted in 12,519, marking an increase of 18.5% compared to 2015. During 2016, the number of foreign residents constitutes out of 8,324 males and 4,195 females. The 30-59 age group occupies 62.4% of total foreigners in 2016, marking an increase of 25.8% compared to the same age group in 2015. In 2016, foreigners originating from Europe are 8,324 and account for 66.5% of the total foreign population. Foreigners for employment reasons, in 2016, are 6,263, and account for 50% of the total number of foreigners in the country. Irregular foreigners, identified in 2016, resulted in 915 people, dropping by 55.3% compared with 2015. Foreigners in Albania The number of foreigners with residence permits in Albania in 2016 accounts for about 0.4% of the resident population. During 2016,