Adelina Farici from the National Association of Municipalities of Albania, in an interview on the show "This Week" IN News24, spoke about the Territorial Reform and the hearings that have been held in several municipalities.

During the interview, Farici evaluated the meetings held as positive, stating that for the first time, two co-chairs representing two major political forces in the country are going to a joint hearing.

"What we are asking for is a review of a reform that was one-sided because it lacked political participation and inclusiveness. We are at a moment where it is the first time that two co-chairs representing two major political forces are going to a joint hearing and I think that in the eyes of public opinion there is no difference between the co-chairs. For the first time we have equal representation and citizens are being heard. This is a positive signal. I have also noticed that the purpose of the hearings is being distorted, but it is impossible to avoid political influence on citizens. It is an open hearing and there will also be inclusiveness," she said.

Further during the interview, he stated that he sees the problem mostly in the administrative part.

"What I see from citizens is that their demands are in full coherence with the demands of local government levels. Competencies are not complete, they are underfunded, the grant should be brought closer to the region. So the demands are essentially the same if they are stripped of the political part. So before we say Territorial Reform, I think that the problem lies more in the administrative part than in the territorial issue. This is explained by the fact that we have a set of competencies. Municipalities have 41 functions and if we take them in order, are these functions provided? Do we have minimum national standards for these functions? So it is important to conduct such an analysis and have the necessary finances been foreseen?", she continued.