This act provides targeted assistance for vulnerable populations, including income support for households, as well as care services for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers. It also guarantees financing for the pension scheme.

The minister said that, “2025 Social Protection Budget for Vulnerable Families and Persons with Disabilities amounts to 256 million euros. While the fund for pensioners, which includes indexation and the bonus, is about 11.8 billion lekë”.

“Through this normative act, we aim to maintain the total budget revenues unchanged, redistribute about 30 billion lekë in savings identified for the most complete realization of public expenditures”, said Malaj.

The minister stated that, from a macroeconomic perspective, the year 2025 is expected to close with an economic growth of 3.9%, public debt is estimated to be 54% of the GDP, at the lowest level ever. Revenues from taxes, customs and contributions, according to preliminary data, reached 668 billion lekë.

The minister emphasized that this act is not only a technical budgetary instrument, but an act of political responsibility that maintains fiscal balances, guarantees the continuity of fiscal consolidation and the macroeconomic stability of the country. /e.xh/j.p/p.s./

Through the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy 2026-2030, the aim is to promote the efficient development of the government securities market.

According to Minister Malaj, this strategy focuses on: restructuring debt for longer periods, especially domestic debt; further reducing exposure to exchange rate risk and sustainable management of public debt.

Malaj said that the strategy aims to strengthen financial stability and improve debt management in the near future.

Albania’s public debt is expected to follow a downward trajectory during 2026, falling to around 53.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the 2026 budget, approved by the Government and then by the Parliament.

The Ministry of Finance predicts that public debt will be 54.1% at the end of 2025.

In terms of borrowing, the government expects to secure 45 billion lekë in the domestic market, mainly through long-term debt securities, aiming to reduce risks and at the same time meet the preferences of domestic investors.

In the external market, new borrowing will be oriented towards financing priority projects and budget support, with a total value of around 47 billion lekë, while net borrowing will remain at around 10.3 billion lekë after including repayments. /r.e/a.f/p.s./

Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj argued that the reduction of public debt indicates a prudent fiscal policy, as well as good management of the portfolio as a whole.

“The main objective of the Ministry of Finance is the fiscal consolidation, keeping spending under control and increasing revenues, in order to reduce the trajectory of public debt,” Malaj said. /j.p/p.s./

Malaj responded to the claims of the Democratic Party MP Bujar Leskaj for an increase of the public debt.

According to Leskaj, the public debt in 2013 was 883 billion ALL, while today it has reached 1.4 trillion ALL, or 1.6 times higher.

But, Malaj argued that the public debt is calculated in relation to the Gross Domestic Product and that in 2013 the public debt was over 70% of the GDP, while in 2015 it would decrease to 55.8%.

“At present, the public debt is 14% lower,” stated Malaj. /j.p/p.s./

Malaj reacted to statements by Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku who said that the Bank of Albania has estimated that 45% of the decrease in debt comes as a result of the euro devaluation.

According to her, this supports the opposition concerns about the damage that the euro devaluation is bringing to the economy.

“The devaluation of the euro is causing damage to the economy, the industry has decreased by 7% and is causing the fictitious decrease in debt”, stated Tabaku. Hence, she expressed the need for another economic model to protect Albanian products.

Regarding the effects of the exchange rate on debt reduction, Minister Malaj stated that the effect of the exchange rate is only 0.4%.

“The effect of the exchange rate is only 0.4% into the 1.2% that the public debt has decreased from 2023 to 2024”, said Malaj.

Malaj also explained the policies that the government is undertaking to support Albanian companies to mitigate the effects of the euro devaluation.

“To make Albanian products more competitive in the international market, the draft budget of 2025, plans about 5.6 billion ALL that will go in the form of grants to support Albanian startups, where about 300 million ALL have been allocated, so far. There is support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the form of a grant worth 100 million ALL. We have increased the employment promotion and professional training scheme in the amount of 750 million ALL, as well as the scheme of supporting farmers and oil reimbursement with about 4.4 billion ALL”, Malaj explained.

According to him, these are initiatives that will help and facilitate Albanian enterprises to make them more competitive in the international market. /j.p/p.s./

Public debt decreased by 7.7 percent within 2023, reaching 59.2%, marking its lowest level for more than a decade.

Minister of Finance Ervin Mete, at the constituency meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which is being held today for the first time in Tirana, said that according to the latest estimates, Albania is among the countries that has reduced the public debt at the fastest rate in region.

“Public debt not only fell to pre-crisis levels, but reached below 60% for the first time since 2011, marking a level of 59.2% at the end of 2023, according to the latest estimates, placing Albania among the countries that have reduced the public debt at the fastest rate in the region”, said Mete.

The high level of public debt has been one of the structural weaknesses of the Albanian economy, reducing the ability to withstand shocks and dictating higher financing costs for the private sector./p.s./

“The draft submitted for consideration is based on a realistic framework of macroeconomic forecasts. Also, this draft budget foresees a consolidating fiscal policy, which is in line with the trend of our monetary policy, as well as addresses some of the priorities of the sustainable and long-term development of the country”, said Sejko.

However, he emphasized, the challenges we face remain serious and complex.

The Albanian economy, continued Sejko, has faced a continuous series of challenges during the last four years; however, it has demonstrated an admirable degree of resistance, reflecting the flexibility of the private sector, the fruits of continuous work to strengthen economic and financial stability as well as the success of the policies that we pursued.

“According to our estimates, the Albanian economy is expected to grow around the level of 3.5% during the current year and to record further growth during the next year”, stated Sejko.

According to him, the Bank of Albania considers that the fiscal policy should be twofold: on the one hand, this policy should aim at the further consolidation of the economic, monetary and financial stability of the country and, on the other hand, should devote more attention to long-term development challenges.

“In our opinion, the draft budget of 2024 maintains a good balance between these two objectives”, said the Governor.

“Meanwhile, projections of the draft budget suggest that the gross debt of the public sector is expected to drop below the level of 60% of GDP during 2024, marking its lowest level for more than a decade”, emphasized Sejko./p.s./

Minister Delina Ibrahimaj announced that during the meeting of the Committee there was approved last year’s report.

“We have managed to implement the action plan to the extent of 96%, ensuring a positive performance, in terms of the main achievements: reduction of public debt to the level of 64%, improvement of the general fiscal deficit and of the primary balance, increase of income and reduction of informality and reduction of arrears of the central and local government, etc.,” said Ibrahimaj.

She added that the drafting of the new strategy will reflect the recommendations given by the central and international institutions, with the aim of having a system of public finances as healthy as possible and to increase transparency. /r.e/p.s./

The management of the public debt portfolio over the past 3 years has faced challenges as a result of the situation created by the 2019 earthquake, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently by the global crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Public debt currently consists of internal debt, which accounts for 51.3% of the total debt, and external debt, which accounts for 48.7% of it.

2022 has been an atypical year in terms of public debt and domestic borrowing in particular, given that market conditions have not been favorable. While the indicator of the share of external debt has experienced a decrease from the one of 2021, where this indicator was estimated at 49.2%.

2023 is also expected to present uncertainty. The annual borrowing plan for 2023, prepared with the assistance of the World Bank, aims to help the Ministry’s annual borrowing activity as well as increase transparency towards investors.

The government aims to further reduce the debt in the medium term, in line with the medium term strategy of public debt management.

Referring to the data provided by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the liquidity in the unique treasury account is about 70 billion ALL, which is considered ample, to continue normally with the execution of the budget. /p.s./

“In nominal value, these expenses have increased by 6.5%, 26.5 billion ALL compared to the revised plan of 2022”, said the minister during the speech in the Assembly where the 2023 draft budget is being discussed in principle.

Ibrahimaj said that public investments are planned to the extent of 5.6% of GDP or 122.2 billion lekë. According to her, this is higher than the average rate before 2019.

“In the 2023 budget, budget expenditures are predicted to be double what they were 10 years ago, while public debt and budget deficit are predicted to slow down. Debt is projected at 67.5% in 2023, from 68.8% in 2022, while the fiscal deficit target is 2.6%. These indicators are predicted to be decreasing, confirming the commitment of the Albanian government to have a fiscal consolidation in order for us to create the necessary spaces to withstand any unexpected event. The objective to do and have fiscal consolidation in a period of crisis proves the care in the use of public money to guarantee the macro-economic stability of the country and the purpose of protecting the public interest”, she said.

The minister stated that the expenses over the next year will be mainly focused on the support of electricity and the strata in need, but without leaving aside the financing of priority sectors such as health, education and agriculture.

“Infrastructure, which is the heart of the country’s economic development, will continue to be significantly financed by the 2023 budget, with a total of 54.7 billion ALL or 2.5% of GDP. More roads, more interconnections and more works will guarantee more attractiveness for foreign investments, either in the sectors covered by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, or in the sectors that are primary for the Albanian economy, to stimulate economic growth, to stimulate interconnection the best of all the countries of the region and EU countries”, stated Ibrahimaj./j.p/r.e/p.s./