Tirana (Tirana Echo) – The European Union Ambassador to Albania Romana Vlahutin has been accused by Albanian daily ‘DITA’ of being involved in a corruptive affair while buying a 1,6m Euro Villa in a compound in Tirana on behalf of the EU Delegation.
Daily newspaper Dita published a report related to the EU Ambassador’s acquisition of a villa in the luxury complex Rolling Hills outside Tirana. According to documents in the possession of Dita, Ambassador Romana Vlahutin’s official residency costs €1.6 million.
Dita reports that this price is several times higher than the market value of other, identical villas in the same complex. The EU allegedly spent €4,700 per square meter, whereas the prices advertised for villas in Rolling Hills range from €1,000 to €2,000 per square meter. This makes Ambassador Vlahutin’s residency one of the most expensive houses in Albania’s history. The newspaper also raises a series of questions about the absence of a public procurement procedure, the fact that the acquisition was made by an individual rather than by an institution, and the source of the money.
European Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijančič has responded yesterday to allegations published in several newspapers regarding the acquisition of EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin’s €1.6 million villa in Rolling Hills.
Kocijančič said: “The decision to choose the residency of the head of the EU delegation in Albania came as a conclusion of a full analysis, including a market survey, evaluation of an independent expert, and the advice of the Regional Security Officer of the EEAS in relation to security aspects.
This is the best option as regards the general price/quality relation and the fulfillment of the needs of the building as residency of the Head of the EU delegation, such as security, convenience, and proximity to the EU delegation. The decision was approved by the EU Budget Authority in January 2015.
It is of a very great importance for the institutions of the EU that the budget is spent in a correct, transparent way, in the best relation of price/quality”.
However, local Albanian media have been noticing the extremely high price paid for a villa which should normally cost at least half the amount while several reporters allegedly have experienced heavy pressure from exponents at the EU Delegation in Tirana not to report the story.
Some major online portals removed the story after being published, such as was the case of the TEMA newspaper article.
The EU delegation in Tirana also appears to have a history of corruption. In 2007, two Italians, one a European Commission official and another a European Parliament assistant, were arrested for corruption, suspected of “bribes from real estate and security companies in return for rewarding them with contracts to rent, equip and secure the commission buildings in New Dehli and Tirana.”
Copyright 2017 Tirana Echo – Additional Sources DITA / EXIT