EU-funded project, social reuse of land confiscated from organized crime in Albania

In Tirana, the Final Conference of the project “Our Land” was held, an innovative initiative for the social reuse of lands confiscated from organized crime in Albania.

The project, implemented by COSV in partnership with ANRD and CGM and in close collaboration with the Agency for the Management of Seized and Confiscated Assets (AAPSK), was funded by the European Commission and has been implemented since 2022 in rural areas of Shijak and Tirana.

Social agriculture, as the core of the project, has been put at the service of creating new employment and self-employment opportunities for youth, women, marginalized groups, and the families of victims of organized crime, with the aim of curbing emigration and revitalizing rural areas.

Andrea Ferrero from the EU delegation in Albania stated that organized crime has overshadowed many communities, so confiscated lands can be turned into an opportunity for communities and benefits can be created from these assets.

“From this project, society wins and it aims to show how the return of these lands to social businesses can impact rural development, how it can create jobs and a growing economy,” he noted.

The Albanian chief administrator, Risena Xhaja, in her welcoming speech, emphasized the strategic importance that this project represents for the very mission of the agency.

“The ‘Our Land’ project has been more than a concrete intervention – it has been a valuable experience of learning, collaboration, and institutional growth,” she pointed out.

Thanks to this collaboration, confiscated lands have been turned into sources of employment, social development, and integration for marginalized groups in rural areas.

Xhaja also emphasized that the project has helped bring AAPSK closer to the best European standards for the governance of confiscated assets, further strengthening inter-institutional partnership and cooperation with civil society. (June 30)