Jaupaj held meetings with representatives from the European Commission, Germany, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, focusing on Chapter 27, nature protection, waste management, green financing and regional cooperation.

“At this ministerial meeting, alongside the European Commission, the RCC, the IUCN, and other international bodies, we adopted the third declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans,” said Jaupaj.

Jaupaj emphasized that, “Following the adoption of the Third Green Agenda Declaration, we are moving towards an Albania and a region that are greener, more sustainable and closer to the EU.”

“At this ministerial, I held several high-level bilateral and trilateral meetings. This included talks with the EU Environment Directorate to advance our Chapter 27 commitments, and a trilateral meeting with my counterparts from North Macedonia and Kosovo concerning the Korab-Koritnik–Sharr Mountain National Park,” said Jaupaj. Minister Jaupaj noted, “This will become Europe’s largest cross-border park, providing a unified space for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.”

The Third Ministerial Meeting on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans serves as a forum to review progress made so far and to define policy directions for the next phase of the Green Agenda’s implementation. The Ministerial also adopted the Ministerial Declaration on the Green Agenda for 2026. /p.s./

The head of government underlined that the country’s modernization efforts are creating a stronger foundation for managing risks, especially those related to climate change and natural disasters.

Rama underlined that, “A comprehensive strategy, which brings together insurance, reserve funds and budgeting, can significantly mitigate fiscal risks from natural disasters”.

The head of government stressed that, “Orienting our financial systems towards green practices is vital”.

“The development of green taxonomies will direct resources towards initiatives that improve environmental risk mitigation and climate adaptation, ensuring that today’s growth does not compromise tomorrow’s resilience”, said Rama.

Speaking about global challenges, Rama stressed that cooperation between nations is essential. According to him, the world needs a new approach that transforms uncertainty into resistance and crisis into opportunity.

“Together through innovation, cooperation and commitment, we can transform uncertainty into resistance, complexity into strength and crisis into new opportunities. This is a world of the courageous and it is a moment when the alternative could not be clearer: to move on the path of inertia, to close our eyes to the iceberg that could swallow us or to be courageous, to be creative and united to open a new path that will save us all.

“What is of interest in present-day world is that no one can heal themselves or their nation alone. Either all nations will come together to save humanity, or humanity will go to hell with all nations together,” Rama said. /m.q/r.e/a.f/p.s./

The meeting was held a few hours before the signing of the bilateral agreement on the Action Plan for Innovation.

Attending the meeting were also the heads of key institutions of our innovation ecosystem and the coordination of strategic projects.

“This Plan marks a major step forward for Albania, which aims to become a European hub for green AI and sustainable innovation. We discussed concrete projects that are being materialized, from the AI ​​factory and the digital campus, to the involvement in the most advanced technologies such as supercomputers and the BCC Center in Korça”, said Minister Gonxhja.

According to him, the partnership with France is the key to more investments, increase academic cooperation and strengthen Albanian creative economy. /p.s./

General Directorate of Road Transport Services reported that in the first 3 months of the current year, January-March 2025 there were registered 980 fully electric vehicles or 55% more compared to January-March 2024.

Thanks to fiscal incentives, green vehicles continue to convincingly increase their dominance in road traffic in Albania.

According to the Directorate, 33% of electric vehicles are with 0 Km registered and 72.1% of vehicles registered during January-March 2025 are Euro 5 and above. /r.e//a.f/p.s./

This is the fourth year of publication of the Green Book in the format of an annual report, based on the Customs Administration’s vision to facilitate legitimate trade while maintaining the right balance with risk analysis and post-clearance controls.

This is the fourth year of publication of the Green Book in the format of an annual report, based on the Customs Administration’s vision to facilitate legitimate trade while maintaining the right balance with risk analysis and post-clearance controls.

In the book’s introduction, Director General of Customs Genti Gazheli emphasized that 2024 was a challenging year for Albanian Customs, but still a successful year beyond the realization of revenues of about 2.3 billion euros or about 125 million euros more than in 2023.

“This result, much more than satisfactory, is worth encouraging the Customs Administration because greater work awaits us for 2025, when we are already intensively involved in the European integration process, in the negotiating position of the group chapter 3, “Competitiveness and inclusive growth”, stated Gazheli.

The digitalization of customs services, the facilitation of fair trade, service to business, the protection of the country’s financial interests, the fight against smuggling and evasion, were the main pillars that marked the performance of Albanian Customs for 2024.

The Customs Administration’s activities will be based on three main objectives for 2025: Efficiency, Security and Prosperity on the path of integration towards the European Customs Union. /j.p/p.s./

This event was organized in the context of the Digital and Green Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) project, financed by Croatia.

The event brought together high-level representatives of the OECD, the European Union’s Delegation to Albania, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Western Balkans and representatives of the Albanian institutions tasked with applying digital technologies among SMEs.

The aim of the event was to provide a platform to discuss digital technologies as mechanisms to improve energy efficiency and to reduce the energy consumption of SMEs, therefore advancing both the digital and green transitions.

The event will provide a space to exchange and understand the areas of application of digital technologies among SMEs in the Western Balkans, and to identify priorities to facilitate the adoption of these technologies.

/j.p/u.sh/

The meeting took place on the second anniversary of establishment of this voluntary parliamentary group.

During the meeting, there were presented the analysis of the efforts to meet the objectives of the Green Agenda for the period 2022-2024, the developments so far and the need for more encouragement.

At the beginning of the meeting, Chairman of the Committee for Production Activities, Trade and the Environment and at the same time Chairman of the Green Group Arben Pëllumbi highlighted the legal initiatives launched related to the Green Agenda as well as the cooperation with other parliaments of the region during these two years of activity of this organization.

On his part, Director of the Academy of Political Studies Erjon Tase praised the initiatives of the Assembly of Albania in the use of electric scooters and the further promotion of incentives for renewable energy and sustainable transport.

At the same time, Tase invited the MPs to use the expertise offered for legal initiatives that help meeting the objectives of the Green Agenda.

The meeting continued with a presentation on implementation situation of the Green Agenda Action Plan in the period 2022-2024, drawn up by independent experts Rodian Gjoka and Ray Koçi.

The presentation aims to provide information for MPs and encouragement to increase their supervisory role towards public institutions.

A certificate of recognition was extended to MP Ismet Beqiraj as the most active lawmaker of the Green Group, so far.

The attendees appreciated Beqiraj’s professional engagement in discussions and amendments to the greenhouse gas law as well as discussions of other legal drafts. /r.e/p.s./

In context of the Year of Forests, there have been planted new trees in many neighborhoods of the city and there have increased the green spaces.

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared today in the social media moments from the work of the municipality’s employees to plant trees.

The municipality of Durrës also focuses on the planting of trees and the addition of green spaces.

Recently, there has begun the planting of 250 trees in some areas of the coastal city. The trees that are being planted are red plum, tulip trees, acer trees and maple trees and they are initially being planted in the flower garden of Neighborhood No 17 and then their planting will continue in the “Taulantia” promenade, “Ekopark” and various streets in the city.

The Municipality of Durrës is set to continue the work of planting many more trees and adding green spaces./m.m/r.e/p.s./

While taking the floor in the Parliament, Etilda Gjonaj congratulated Mayor Veliaj while saying that the opposition’s only problem is personal.

“In the quality of lawmaker for Tirana, I hope that at least when you travel with the new transport on the basis of this green project, you will regret that have not approved that agreement. I would like to thank the Albanian government but at the same time congratulate Mayor Erion Veliaj that while a handful of people hit the municipality building with Molotov cocktails to solve their personal problem, his only concern is the local residents of the capital and to transform Tirana as a capital no different at all from other European capitals”, said Gjonaj.

The socialist lawmaker underlined that through this reform there will be a transformation of transport in a capital that grows daily and has an influx of tourists.

“Tirana is a city that grows every day with 20-25 thousand new residents per year. Also if in 2015, there were 100 thousand tourists per year, today the number of tourists exceeds 10 million per year. In context of this daily growth, there continue investments while a large range of services offered to citizens are definitely required. Here, it was said that the MPs of Tirana came out in support of Veliaj. I am honored to be in the political team of Tirana and I am privileged to be an MP of Tirana, but we are talking here to protect a project that will bring a qualitative change in what the citizens of Tirana will benefit in terms of public transport. I say, it is one of the most important projects, as it eases the problem of traffic and public transport”, said Gjonaj./a.f/r.e/p.s./

Mayor of the city Gledian Llatja wrote in the social media, “Very happy that every day Elbasan is having more and more green spaces and it’s becoming one of the model municipalities in organizing and investing in forests”, wrote Llatja in a post in the social media.

He also wrote that more than 40 privet trees were planted by children with special needs attending comprehensive education in the schools of the Shushica administrative unit, together with parents and teachers.

The government has launched an afforestation campaign in all municipalities of the country, within the framework of the Year of Forests. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment announced 2024 the Year of Forests consisting of afforestation campaigns, but also education and awareness for citizens. Earlier, the year 2022 was dedicated to cleaning and the environment, while the year 2023 was the year dedicated to the Vjosa River and the creation of the National Park of the last wild river in Europe./p.s./