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| Two Albanian passports |
The Albanian government is looking for foreign investors who can bring their money to Albania and benefit from Albanian citizenship. Through the decision of The Council of Ministers, the government has decided to grant a part of the procedures with a concession.
Two foreign companies will offer 2 services, that of advertising the Albanian passport and checking the image of the person who will be able to request to receive the Albanian passport.
But the European Union has expressed reservations regarding this kind of application. Euronews Albania asked the EU press office about this initiative of the Albanian government. Ana Pisonese, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, says that these projects risk the involvement of organized crime and money laundering schemes.
"The risks include the infiltration of organized crime, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption through potential applicants coming from third world countries. The Commission considers these schemes contrary to EU law and has launched infringement procedures against the Member States in 2020. Due to the future perspective of membership in the European Union, the citizenship of candidate countries may become attractive to investors. This is already happening during the accession processes, as the candidate countries develop closer relations with the EU and can give the right to their citizens to enter the Schengen area without the need for a visa for short periods of time", says Pisonero.