Speaking in his weekly address, Rama described the June normative act revising the 2026 state budget as the week’s most significant development, saying stronger-than-expected economic growth had generated additional revenues, allowing the government to introduce new support measures.

Rama said the pension bonus reflected the government’s policy of sharing the benefits of higher-than-forecast economic growth with the country’s most vulnerable groups, rejecting suggestions that the measure was linked to electoral considerations.

He added that all additional tax revenues generated by higher fuel prices following recent international tensions had been set aside for pensioners rather than incorporated into the state budget.

Rama also announced an additional 15 million euros for medicines for cancer patients, salary increases for emergency doctors, an expansion of the state’s sovereign guarantee for a national business growth programme aimed at doubling the number of enterprises, and a doubling of financial support for people with disabilities and children with special needs.

He said the government had also fulfilled a previous pledge to increase assistance for children with autism and had expanded support for caregivers of people with disabilities and children with special needs, alongside additional funding for rural and urban development initiatives.

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Speaking at a year-end news conference, Rama said financial autonomy had been implemented since March at the “Memorial” hospital in Fier, calling it a major step forward, and added that managerial autonomy was now in place at 12 regional and tertiary hospitals.

Four additional hospitals are in the process of adopting the same model, a move Rama described as a significant transformation of the public healthcare system.

Rama said the government had allocated an additional dedicated fund of 15 million euros to expand treatment capacity for patients with cancer, citing a rising incidence of tumour-related diseases in Albania in line with global trends.

He said work had also begun on establishing a National Cancer Institute in Albania and expanding chemotherapy services to more hospitals nationwide, with the aim of easing pressure on facilities in Tirana and significantly increasing treatment capacity.

Rama added that several new services were being introduced free of charge, including thrombectomy procedures, breast reconstruction for 350 patients, corneal transplants, new surgery and cardiac surgery packages, and kidney transplants.

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