Tag: Albania
Macedonia 25.05.19 | 10:06

Sterjovski named as member of the Foreign Affair Committee of the Albanian Parliament

Vasil Sterjovski, the first ethnic Macedonian member of the Albanian Parliament after the fall of Communism in this country, was named as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Macedonian associations in Albania welcomed Sterjovski’s appointment to the 15 member Committee. Sterjovski was named...

Macedonia 15.05.19 | 11:46

Albania opens its labor market for citizens of neighboring countries – provided they are ethnic Albanians

Albanian Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj announced that his country is opening its labor market for citizens of Macedonia and Montenegro, but only for those who are ethnic Albanians. Cakaj made the announcement on Facebook and said that the country is working to create a unified labor market for ethnic Albanians...

Balkans 09.05.19 | 10:40

First Macedonian member of Parliament to be sworn in Albania

Vasil Sterjovski, a seasoned Macedonian rights activist from Albania, is being named member of the Albanian Parliament. Sterjovski’s Macedonian Alliance for European Integration was part of the coalition led by now President Ilir Meta in the 2017 elections. It’s expected that Sterjovski will...

Balkans 16.04.19 | 22:21

Dutch Parliament wants to re-introduce visas for Albania, move could complicate its EU accession process

Concerned over the growing levels of Albanian criminal activity, the Dutch Parliament voted today to restore visas for Albanian citizens. Albanian media report that the decision of the Tweede Kamer will empower the Dutch Government to go to Brussels and request that the European Union again imposes a...

Balkans 22.03.19 | 21:45

Council of Europe calls on Albania to allow ethnic minorities to be counted in its 2020 census

The Council of Europe demands that Albania conducts a realistic census of its ethnic minorities in 2020, allowing them to freely express their nationality. According to the Council, allowing the expression of national identity should definitely be one of the questions contained in the census forms, especially...

Balkans 06.03.19 | 12:28

Albanian opposition urges snap election as protesters rally outside parliament

Albania’s main opposition leader on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Edi Rama to call a snap election over allegations of corruption and vote fraud, as anti-government protesters rallied outside parliament, Reuters reported. They burnt portraits of Rama and threw firecrackers at the building, but the demonstration...

Balkans 21.02.19 | 20:54

Albania in turmoil as opposition protests and leaves parliament

Thousands of Albanians protested against the Socialist government as the opposition abandoned the parliament demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation and a transitional government to prepare fair elections. Demonstrators marched peacefully after a rally, in contrast to the previous protest on...

Balkans 21.02.19 | 11:55

Albanian opposition prepares new protest, EU warns them against it

Albanian opposition parties are preparing a new protest on Thursday, after the Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration resigned their seats in Parliament and are pushing for early elections. Over the weekend, their protests turned violent as the crowd was attempting to storm the office...

Balkans 18.02.19 | 09:41

Albanian opposition walks out of Parliament after unruly protests, demands early elections

The Albanian opposition Democratic Party walked out of the Parliament in protest against corruption and political abuse by the ruling Socialist Party led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, and instructed its members of Parliament to resign. The move comes after unruly protests in downtown Tirana on Saturday,...

News 14.02.19 | 20:08

Xhaferi celebrates with Rama: Without Albanians there would be no “North Macedonia”

Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi welcomed the unanimous decision of the Albanian Parliament to ratify Macedonia’s NATO accession, while Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that, if it weren’t for the Albanians in Macedonia, the country would never have changed its name to “North Macedonia”. We...

Balkans 13.02.19 | 12:02

Albania to ratify Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol on Thursday

The Albanian Parliament will ratify Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol on Thursday. The session will be attended by the Parliament Speaker, Talat Xhaferi. “The Parliament Speaker of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi will pay a working visit to the Republic of Albania where...

Balkans 05.02.19 | 20:26

Greek President Pavlopoulos threatens to block Albania’s EU accession

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos threatened Albania with blocking its accession to the European Union, if the Albanian authorities don’t immediately improve their treatment of the Greek minority in the south of the country. The threat comes just as Greece is expected to stop blocking Macedonia’s...

Sport 04.02.19 | 10:07

Macedonian futsal team beats Albania, advances to next stage as top of the group

The Macedonian futsal team beat Albania 3:2 and won the FIFA World Cup qualifications that were taking place in Skopje. Ziberi (twice) and Ismaili were on target for Macedonia which came back after losing 1:2 at the halftime. Macedonia won the group with 9 points, ahead of Albania with 6, Greece with...

Macedonia 29.01.19 | 21:33

Albania deleted recordings showing Gruevski cross its border into Montenegro

Albanian Customs officers apparently erased the recordings showing former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski going through a border crossing with Albania, during his trip to Hungary where he claimed political asylum in November. Macedonian authorities, who say they are investigating how Gruevski...

World 29.01.19 | 11:39

Independent: Albania is Europe’s Colombia

In an article entitled “Colombia of Europe: How tiny Albania became the continent’s drug trafficking headquarters”, British newspaper Independent, reveals that marijuana contributes $4 billion a year to Albania’s Gross Domestic Product from illegal drug sales. The white fishing boat with the...

Balkans 28.12.18 | 09:31

Albania’s government fulfills demands of boycotting students

Albania’s government says it has fulfilled the demands of public university students, who boycotted classes for more than two weeks this month, The Associated Press reports. A statement Wednesday said the Cabinet held an extraordinary meeting and decided to meet all the students’ requests. Students...

Balkans 27.12.18 | 13:16

Double controls in Albania-Kosovo customs removed

Interior Minister, Sander Lleshi announced on Thursday that the double control at the Albania-Kosovo border was removed. The Minister informed that the Council of Ministers approved on Wednesday the decision for removing double controls at the “Morine” border crossing point between Kosovo...

Balkans 24.12.18 | 18:56

NATO alarmed at Albanian intelligence leak

An Independent story, revealing how Albanian intelligence mistakenly published the names of its secret agents in neighboring countries, raised alarm in NATO whose covert actions were also affected. Albanian intelligence published names, ID numbers, ranks, travel details, and even vehicle details of its...

Balkans 20.12.18 | 15:54

Albania expels Iranian diplomats on national security grounds

Albania has expelled Iran’s ambassador and another diplomat for “damaging its national security”, the foreign ministry said, Reuters reported. Albania did not identify the two, and did not say when they were expelled or if they had left the NATO member country, but told Reuters it had consulted...