Speaking to journalist Rudina Xhunga on the “Flasim Shqip” podcast, Rama said Albania had advanced cyber-defence capabilities and was working with international partners to verify evidence before attributing malicious cyber activity.

“We now have cyber-defence technology that is ‘top of the top’ and significant capabilities to identify malicious activity,” Rama said.

He said Albania had a case file on the activity but that any attribution of a cyberattack required cooperation with other actors to verify the findings before publicly identifying those responsible.

Turning to the Sazan debate, Rama said artificially created profiles had been used to amplify various narratives online.

“They do not exist. They are created in laboratories and give voice to different narratives,” he said.

Rama said the experience had shown how thousands of artificially generated accounts, using Albanian names and identities, could increase tensions in the country’s digital space.

He also said some narratives surrounding the protests sought to fuel religious and ethnic divisions by linking the Sazan and Zvërnec investments to Albania’s relations with Israel.

Rama rejected claims that the Zvërnec investment was linked to the Israeli state, saying its main investors were two Syrian brothers who are Qatari citizens.

He said criticism of Israeli policies was legitimate but should not undermine Albania’s relations with Israel, while also highlighting the role of Albanian Muslims and Christians in protecting Jews during World War Two.

“Thanks to Muslims and Albanians, all the Jews here were saved,” Rama said.

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Opposition lawmakers from the Democratic Party (DP) argued that the report raised concerns over corruption, media freedom and governance issues, and accused the government of avoiding parliamentary scrutiny.

Chairman of the DP parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, said the government should allow a debate on the report’s findings, while opposition lawmaker Jorida Tabaku said the concerns raised by protesters had also been reflected in discussions within European institutions.

Lawmakers from the opposition Freedom Party joined calls for an urgent debate with Prime Minister Edi Rama on the protesters’ demands.

The ruling Socialist Party rejected the request, arguing that it did not meet the procedural requirements set out in parliament’s rules and the constitution.

Socialist parliamentary group leader Taulant Balla said the opposition had used the wrong parliamentary mechanism and suggested it could instead pursue a motion of no confidence if it wished to challenge the government.

Balla also disputed the opposition’s claim to speak on behalf of the protesters and accused it of misrepresenting their demands.

The Conference of Parliamentary Group Chairpersons failed to reach agreement on the opposition’s proposal, leaving the matter to be decided in a plenary session.

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During a television interview, when asked about the lawsuit of the Association of Judges at the Constitutional Court for a salary increase, Lamallari said that 10 years after the approval of the Justice Reform, this should not be a real debate because, as he put it, the judges in Albania have higher salaries than countries in the region and the same as in Greece, a member state of the European Union.

Lamallari underlined during the interview that the real problems of the system are the legal processes that drag on, the vacancies, the extensions of the terms of the heads of courts and the unjust detention of citizens.

According to the Minister of Justice, the accountability of officials and the trust of citizens in justice are key to strengthening democracy and European integration.

“The real discussion should be about the need for a strong analysis of the 10 years of the reform: are there any court processes that are dragging on today; are there vacancies that need to be addressed; are there any extensions of the terms of office of the heads of courts and prosecutors’ offices; is there quality justice for the citizens. The citizens suffer in detention and there is no court decision that can turn back the time denied to a citizen. These are real issues that the judiciary should address today,” Lamallari said, emphasizing that the Government has shown its support.

“Today, judges have the highest salaries in the region, salaries equal to an EU member state, specifically Greece. Judges’ salaries are dignified, taking into account the context of salaries, and citizens’ trust in justice is key and should not be undermined by small discussions about a big mission”, continued the minister.

“Accountability is the most important thing. This is to strengthen democracy. Every Albanian official must be accountable to the citizen. Pre-trial detention is an added injustice to citizens and when we have a backlog that is not being reviewed by judges, these are the real issues that need to be discussed”, emphasized the Minister of Justice. /m.q/j.p/p.s./

“Thanks to this philosophy, the six candidates running for the Ombudsman do not have the support of the SP. Ombudsman candidates are backed 100% by the opposition bloc. We made a political decision: none of the MPs – 83 MPs – signed, because we did not have the right to propose them. The candidates all came by proposal of the opposition”, Klosi emphasized.

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In a letter to Speaker Niko Peleshi, DP parliamentary group leader Gazment Bardhi said that, given the OSCE/ODIHR’s conclusions – particularly those concerning breaches of the principle of equality between contestants – it was the duty of MPs to initiate a parliamentary discussion on shortcomings and standards of the country’s electoral processes.

“For this reason,” Bardhi wrote, “we request the holding of a parliamentary debate on the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the May 11, 2025 parliamentary elections.”

According to DP, the OSCE/ODIHR report stated that the 2025 parliamentary elections were held in a highly polarized environment where contestants did not enjoy equal opportunities and that the ruling party benefited from the extensive use of administrative resources during the campaign.

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The motion, submitted by the chairman of DP parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, seeks to reopen discussion on the government’s policy agenda, which was approved in a 25-minute session on September 18. Bardhi requested that the debate take place this Thursday, noting no other session had been scheduled.

The head of SP parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, countered that the motion failed to meet the formal and substantive criteria set out in Article 98 of the parliamentary rulebook, saying it grouped together six broad topics instead of focusing on a single issue.

“This request covers macro-issues such as ministerial integrity and political criminalisation. It fails to respect the required format for a motion,” Balla said, adding that the matter was already considered closed two weeks after the programme’s approval.

Bardhi responded that the Conference of Chairpersons – the body tasked with scheduling debates—should not evaluate the content of motions, but only set dates. He insisted the motion centers on Albania’s EU integration aspirations, a key government priority.

Separately, Parliament is expected to formally establish five of its 11 standing committees later today, following an agreement between the majority and the opposition last week.

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Agenda of today’s session first includes debate on the draft law on amendments to the Law No. 61 /2012 on excise duties in the Republic of Albania, amended.

Lawmakers will then discuss the draft law on several amendments and appendixes to the law No. 9920, dated 19.5.2008, “On the Taxation Procedures in the Republic of Albania, amended, the proposed bill on changes to the national taxes, and amendments to the law on Value Added Tax.

Parliament will then begin debate on the 2024 state budget bill, the most important financial law of the year.

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Xhaçka stressed that recent events around the world have drastically affected the prospects of women’s organizations, leading to termination of concrete commitments to this agenda.

“We need to strengthen cooperation and coordination with regional organizations, their voice to be heard in the Security Council. It is time to promote our cooperation with regional organizations to a new level. Particularly vital is this cooperation in the context of recent military coups and the seizure of power in some countries, where we have witnessed the sudden cessation of national engagements for the agenda ‘Women, Peace and Security’, said the Albanian chief diplomat.

Present at the debate, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutierrez said that there was a consensus among the member states on significance of the agenda, but that the situation on the ground was moving in the opposite direction.

“The reason is simple. Equality of women is a matter of power, today’s political blockades and conflicts are just the latest examples of how strongly they are insisting on making us fail,” he said.

The agenda for “Women, Peace and Security” is one of the main priorities of Albania during its work in the Security Council./a.a/p.s./

The debate takes place at the ministerial level and will focus on violence against women due to their involvement in peace and security processes.

This is the first time that Minister Xhaçka participates in a Security Council event, as a representative of Albania, since January 1, 2022 member of the UN Security Council.

The debate is chaired by Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt and invited to brief the Council on the issue are the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and civil society representatives. Violence against women who are civil society and human rights activists as well as the acts of retaliation against them by state and non-state actors in conflict zones continue to be a matter of concern.

The Socialist Party report on Women, Peace and Security expresses concern about the increase in these attacks and stresses that as a result women activists are excluded and unable to participate in important political and peace-building processes./p.s./

President Osmani told the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) that Serbian President Vucic insisted that the border change issues should be addressed by the United Nation members.

“Vucic insisted that the border change in the Western Balkans should be left to the UN members,” she said.

According to Osmani, she and Vucic clashed over the border issue when she and Šefik Džaferović, the Bosnian Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, spoke about Serbia’s crimes in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina as they addressed the Brdo Brijuni summit, an annual gathering in Slovenia of the presidents of two EU-member states, Slovenia and Croatia, with leaders of six Balkan nations.

“When we talked about these crimes, Vucic rejected our statements. We clearly put emphasis on the crimes and atrocities committed both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, but this worried Vucic,” Osmani said, adding that rejecting crimes should not be Serbia’s approach.

“I clearly stated that Serbia will move forward only it recognizes the state of Kosovo and sends war criminals behind the bars. Vucic resorted to another approach and this is regrettable,” Osmani said.

In her speech at the summit, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said: “I want to be loud and clear: the Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign and independent country is a permanent project. There is nothing and no one that can reverse this reality. Dangerous adventures on border changes should be resolutely rejected by all of us, if we truly desire peace and stability in our region.”

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