Speaking at a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Civil Emergencies chaired by Prime Minister Edi Rama, Malaj said the funds are spread across several budget lines covering both emergency response and disaster prevention.

“In total, we have more than 50 million euros available to deal with the situation caused by the severe weather,” Malaj said.

Finance Minister said 30 million euros had been allocated under the Civil Emergencies programme, including 15 million euros earmarked for projects and works related to disaster prevention.

He added that a further 10 million euros was available through a conditional fund for Civil Emergencies, managed by the Ministry of Defence and to be distributed to local authorities based on a risk-based methodology.

In addition, a 25 million-euro reserve fund of the Council of Ministers will be made available to meet concrete needs, depending on assessments of damage caused by the weather, Malaj said.

He said a separate fund of 5 million euros had also been set aside for dams and reservoirs, aimed at financing interventions and investments in water infrastructure.

The Interministerial Committee for Civil Emergencies met in Tirana on Friday to review the situation caused by the recent severe weather and to coordinate the response in affected areas.

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The measure includes a one-off payment of 15,000 leks for each beneficiary, covering families receiving social assistance, people with disabilities and their caregivers. Around 148,500 people will benefit, with total funding of 2.2 billion leks, Finance Minister said.

The payments are intended to ease pressure on vulnerable groups amid rising living costs as the year draws to a close.

Malaj also said the cabinet had decided to redirect unspent funds from ministries and other budget institutions into a special pension fund at the central bank.

Based on preliminary estimates, at least 150 million euros is expected to be transferred and used to support pension reform, he said.

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