Speaking during a protest gathering outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tirana, Berisha said the opposition would return to what he described as a “peaceful uprising”.

He claimed that the European Parliament’s report on Albania criticises the country’s elections, describing them as a “farce”.

Berisha reiterated the opposition’s support for Albania’s European future, while stressing that free elections remained its central priority.

Referring to Tuesday’s intergovernmental conference in Brussels linked to the IBAR process, Berisha said the European Union’s strategic interest in integrating the Western Balkans had played a decisive role.

“There is a geopolitical factor, and this region will belong to the European Union,” Berisha said, adding that Prime Minister Edi Rama remained “under a red circle” over governance issues despite the advancement of the process.

The opposition leader also said the Democratic Party’s resolve and political determination were “stronger than ever.”

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Commenting on social media after EU member states approved Albania’s Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), Koçiu said Albania’s European integration process had become “a success story written every day together and clearly reflected at every table in Brussels”.

“Against every attempt to tarnish the country’s image, against every political effort to discredit our shared achievements and obstruct progress, work always prevails and Albania always prevails,” she said.

Koçiu described the development as “a day of pride” for state institutions, the governments “Albania 2030” team and all Albanians who believe the country has the potential to “sit as an equal among equals in the broader European family”.

European Union member states on Thursday approved Albania’s IBAR report, marking what Tirana described as a significant step forward in the country’s EU accession negotiations.

The Albania-EU Intergovernmental Conference is regarded as one of the key milestones in the enlargement process, as it paves the way for further technical and political progress in negotiations and accelerated closure of negotiating chapters.

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