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Albania to enter talks with Italy in an attempt to keep call center operators there

Xinhua, December 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Albania will start talks soon with the Italian government to negotiate and reach a deal over changes to a law which will affect the call center industry that Italian parliament is planning to approve, Albanian minister of economy said Friday.

The Albanian government will try to reach a deal to find a way to reduce the impact these changes will have on the Albanian market, economy minister Milva Ekonomi told reporters.

In a meeting with call center owners operating in Tirana, the Albanian minister assured them the Albanian government would continue to support the industry operators and find a solution to the situation.

Call center owners told Ekonomi that if Albania and Italy failed to reach an agreement, they would have to transfer their investments to Romania, since returning to Italy would be impossible due to high tax rates.

The new legislation, which is waiting for a final approval by the Italian Senate, bans the transfer of Italian call center companies to non-European Union (EU) member states.

The call center industry in Albania and the national economy here in general would suffer a lot from such changes as official statistics showed that as many as 25,000 young Albanians are employed in call centers, located mainly in the country's capital.

Albanian authorities will also send an official letter to the Italian Senate and to Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, in an attempt to reach a deal. Endit