The Parliamentary Committee for Economy and Finance approved on Monday only with majority votes a government bill, which provides for the dissolution of the airline service company "Albcontrol" and its transfer to a new legal entity, at a time when tens of millions of euros remain blocked due to the loss of the arbitration case by the Albanian state against businessman Francesco Becchetti.

The bill says that Albcontrol's replacement agency's income will have to be "used exclusively to cover costs," a legal trick that, according to the report, means those funds will be immune from freezing requests, Reproter.al reported.

The government also anticipates that it will "break up without liquidating" the company Albcontrol, without clarifying how the debt of Lek 5 billion given by the state budget will be able to be repaid.

The opposition welcomed the government's proposal with criticism, accusing it of losing in arbitration, while the government's representative insisted that the real reason for the closure was related to an obligation arising from changes to the Air Code.

The deputy of the Democratic Party, Arbi Agalliu, asked for clarification on how the state loan will be liquidated and data on the amount seized in the company's accounts so far.

The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enkelejda Muçaj, avoided the direct question about the blocked accounts but admitted that the company is in a condition where it has no liquidity and is being supported by money from the state budget.

Regarding the state loan, she promised that the closing of the company would be done only after all the rights and obligations had been transferred, together with the financial instrument for the repayment of this obligation.

Regarding the financial problems of the company, she admitted that she was being held by the state budget.

Deputy Minister Muçaj said that Eurocontrol has a problem with Albcontrol's payment and that under these conditions, the state was obliged to support it financially. "It seems to me that since we have court proceedings, what should the Albanian state do? Should we continue to ensure its success?" she asked the MPs.

For the draft law, the deputy minister said that they were related to the obligations of the Air Code for the provision of a legal guarantee against judicial processes or the sequestration of the assets of the Albanian state around the world.

The draft law states that the income that the new entity will have from its activity must be "used exclusively" for the entity's existence and that this income "enjoys immunity from execution orders".

Prime Minister Edi Rama has stated that he will not pay the fine of Euro 108 million imposed by the International Court of Arbitration against Becchetti, but unlike what Rama claims, the payments are being made through the accounts of the public company, Albcontrol, under the Eurocontrol organization, putting this company at risk of bankruptcy.

The total of these amounts blocked until December 2022 was Lek 6.75 billion [over Euro 60 million]. The blocked amount is believed to have been added to the income of 2023 and the first months of 2024.