Page 56 - bne magazine November 2021_20211104 uzbekistan risding

56 I Southeast Europe bne November 2021
Motorists in Albania face rising fuel costs.
Protests in Albania as rising
food and fuel prices bite
in the price of gas by around 250%, the rise in fuel prices, from $60 a barrel
in August to $80 now and according
to projections, the price is expected to reach $100 per barrel by the end of this year,” the prime minister said.
“For Albania, the average annual price for buying energy from imports has almost tripled compared to last year,” he added.
Rama cited experts as saying that the situation is likely to continue through to the first half of 2022, and said his administration will do whatever is needed to minimise the effects of
this crisis.
However, opposition leader Lulzim Basha responded, calling the energy crisis a “disaster prepared by the government”. He told journalists
on October 4 that corruption, not developments on global markets, was the cause of the shortages.
Basha said his Democratic Party will endorse all forms of civil resistance, and will make direct contact with citizens to organise resistance efforts.
“[T]he price of energy and the price
of fuel burdens mostly households
and businesses, in particular small
and medium business, but also large manufacturing business,” Basha said on October 4, according to a Democratic Party statement.
“We all know that increases in the price of energy and fuel have a direct effect on the price of everything else we consume, from the bread we eat to the services that citizens receive. I want to remind you here that Edi Rama promised to reduce the price of energy, when in fact he increased it for both families and businesses.”
Albania’s annual inflation has accelerated for the last couple of months, in line with the general trend across emerging Europe as the post- coronacrisis recovery gets underway. The consumer price index (CPI) showed year-on-year growth of 2.4% in August, up from a low of just 0.4% in January.
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Protests took place in the Albanian cities of Shkoder and Tirana after a warning from Prime Minister Edi Rama about an impending energy crisis this winter sparked
a political backlash.
Politicians in other parts of the Western Balkans, a group of countries which comprises some of the poorest countries in Europe, are also looking at ways
to ease the burden of inflation, in particular soaring energy costs, on their populations.
In Tirana, several thousand people protested outside the prime minister’s office on October 6 against the higher prices of energy and fuel, and staple foods such as flour, bread and coffee.
“Bread costs more than hashish” and “Down with dictatorship” read some
of the placards, as reported by Albanian Daily News.
Reportedly, one Democratic Party supporter at the protest was asked to take down his party flag to keep the protest non-political.
The main demands from protesters were for VAT to be abolished on food in the
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basic consumer basket, and reductions in taxes for energy and oil. Protesters said that if their demands aren’t met they will take to the streets again on Monday October 11.
The Tirana protest followed another in the northern city of Shkoder attended by a mix of pensioners, students, small home-owners and others earlier in
the week.
They were organised over social media after Rama warned on October 3 that energy prices will continue to rise for Albanians well into 2022.
As outlined by Rama at a press conference, Albania, like other countries, is experiencing sharp increases in energy prices as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and demand for electricity and oil increases.
Rama called the situation a “natural misfortune”, likening it to the earthquake of November 2019 and the pandemic itself.
“The high rate of recovery after the pandemic and the amplified need for energy have led to results like the rise