gent sejko : enhancing bank of albania ’ s alignment with eu acquis address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the launching ceremony of the twinning project “ enhancing bank of albania ’ s alignment with eu acquis ”, tirana, 19 december 2019. * * * your excellencies ambassadors, representatives of banca d ’ italia and deutsche bundesbank, ladies and gentlemen, dear guests, i have the pleasure, as the governor of the bank of albania, to welcome you to the launching ceremony of the twinning project on “ enhancing bank of albania ’ s alignment with eu acquis ”. the project is financed with ipa 2015 eu funds, following a previous project on needs analysis for the bank of albania – designed and led by the ecb in partnership with 11 central banks of the european system of central banks. from this perspective, the new twinning project we are launching today may be considered a continuation of the previous one, given that it will address a significant number of recommendations from 2014. hoping that in the spring of 2020 we will see a green light for the opening of accession negotiations for albania, i would like to reassure you of bank of albania ’ s commitment to fulfilling priorities arising from the european integration process. major objectives for strengthening the long - term capacities of the institution coincide with the approximation of its legal, regulatory and operational frameworks to that of the european system of central banks. i would like to emphasise that undertaking such projects emphasises the mutual engagement of the eu and albania with regard to deepening integration processes of our country, and reiterates albania ’ s european perspective. dear ladies and gentlemen, in the last decade, bank of albania has implemented a number of eu - funded projects. the first twinning project was implemented during 2012 – 2013. at that time, like now, banca d ’ italia – in partnership with banque de france – contributed successfully to achieving concrete results in six areas of bank of albania ’ s activity. the second project – needs analysis for bank of albania ’ s approximation, funded by the eu – was led by the european central bank and was implemented during 2014. the aim of the sixmonth project was to assess the legal, regulatory and operational frameworks of the bank of albania vis - a - vis standards and best practices applied in european central banks. from this perspective, it should be underlined that the recommendations left upon the completion of this project are

and financial instruments as well as the ability to manage personal and household finances, are crucial to achieve individual, and societal welfare. on the other hand, a well - informed financial decision of households helps central banks to accomplish their mandate in achieving price stability and safeguarding financial stability. a better understanding of monetary policy accelerates its effective transmission to the real economy. meanwhile, the quality of decisions for financing or investment has a direct impact on the stability of the whole financial system. the bank of albania has been intensively involved in financial education over the years and this long - standing experience has clearly identified the need for a coordinated initiative at national level up to the upgrading this objective to a reform level of crucial importance for the country. for this purpose, the bank of albania, driven by the requirements of other authorities, and of market stakeholders, considered as indispensable the drafting of a national strategy for financial education that you are also going to address in this meeting and the real outcomes in this regard are expected to become materialised very soon. we are confident that such a strategic document – tailored for the local financial education context – would help through joint and coordinated actions and resources of various stakeholders in increasing effectiveness of objectives for cultivating a financial literacy in the albanian society. i invite, therefore, all the participating institutions to engage and contribute actively to this 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches initiative. concluding, i sincerely hope that this npsc meeting will actively discuss and deliberate on various issues that need to be addressed about relevant topics. thank you for your attention! 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches