TIRANA, Oct 20 /ATA/The Socialist Party convened its parliamentary group today. Following the meeting, the leader of the SP parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, addressed reporters regarding the protests, emphasizing that “the students must be heard.”
Balla announced that “the prime minister has offered the round table—or let us say the square—for dialogue, which I believe is the right moment to sit down with the students.”
“The students, as I said, deserve to be heard. The time to establish Package 2.0 for the university is now,” he stated.
Balla stated that on Thursday, Parliament will also vote on an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany and KfW, specifically to invest more heavily in student dormitories.
“Let us not forget that all the damage inflicted so far on boulevards or businesses exceeds the cost of an investment that would be needed to build the university’s new campus,” he said, referring to the acts of violence during the protests.
Turning to legislative priorities, Balla emphasized that Parliament cannot afford further delays in light of Albania’s EU integration roadmap.
“Losing a week puts tremendous strain on our legislative timetable,” Balla cautioned. He noted that Parliament must vote Thursday on three or four key bills postponed from the previous session to meet an end-of-month deadline. Balla underscored that these measures have been approved by the European Commission and are critical to fulfilling Albania’s prerequisites for European Union membership.
He issued a call for dialogue.
“My foremost call to everyone is for dialogue—the chairs have been set up, everything is ready. Students should select their representatives to sit down alongside the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, or other ministers. We need to sit down together,” he said.
Balla added that the Socialist Party parliamentary group strongly condemns the acts of violence.
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