THE SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT: “THE PARTY OF FREEDOM” PREJUDGES US FOR OUR FAITH LOSS OF STATUS Meta: The fault of the Dutch extremists Refusal of chemical weapons? A sovereign decision by the government; relations with the U.S. are not affected. Project, joint embassy and consulates with Kosovo The Speaker of Parliament, Ilir Meta, in an interview given on journalist Janusz Bugajski’s show “Bugajski Hour” on AS, blamed Dutch extremists as the cause of the refusal of candidate status for Albania. As far as I understood, growth is projected at 2%. Do you think this is achievable? Or is it somewhat too optimistic? We hope for 2014 to see economic growth above 2%. However, everything will depend on many parameters and above all on the progress of structural reforms, but it will also depend on the government’s ability and efficiency. The government is making efforts to put an end to a growing debt. I believe the target is 75% of this year’s GDP. What impact will this have on the Albanian budget in the long term, on the ability to borrow on international markets, and ultimately on Albanian citizens in terms of spending, investment and standard of living? In many ways, the government has legalized a debt, ... Continues on page 4