Speaking at a gala evening organized by the Albanian-American Council in New York, Rama highlighted how much Albania has transformed over the years.

“We have to face a simple truth: success is rarely forgiven. For the fifth or sixth consecutive year, our airport stands as the largest in the region. This dominance is clear not just in relative terms—having led Europe in growth rate for several years—but also in absolute figures,” Rama added.

According to him, Tirana International Airport handles more passengers than the airport that had long been the largest in the region: Belgrade’s.

“And we will continue, because this is just the beginning,” said Rama. “Of course, it is not easy for everyone to digest this. Who are we? Who is Albania to be capable of such growth and to demonstrate such capacity for change?”

He added that certain forces dislike seeing the country progress this way, noting, “I am not claiming we lack nothing, nor am I saying we have no problems,” Rama added. /a.f/p.s./

The increase was well above the European Union average of 2.3%.

Albania recorded the fastest growth in the region, followed by Montenegro at 16.1% and North Macedonia at 15.8%. Serbia posted a 3.1% increase, while Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded a 0.2% decline.

Across Europe, Slovakia recorded the strongest growth at 37%, followed by Estonia at 8.3%, Poland at 7.8%, Slovenia at 7.4%, Lithuania at 6.8% and Italy at 5.7%.

Flight activity declined in several markets, led by Iceland with a 5.9% drop, followed by Austria at 4.7%, Cyprus at 3%, Germany at 2.4% and the Netherlands at 2%.

The increase in Albania came during the peak summer tourism season, when air travel typically rises with higher tourist and passenger flows.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote in a post in the social media that, “Tirana International Airport leads the region’s airports in terms of passenger numbers in the first half of 2026. 6 million passengers in just 6 months, an increase of 17% compared to the same period in 2025”.

The surge in air traffic stems from expanded flight routes and destinations, driven by a continuous rise in tourists choosing Albania.

The increase in air traffic is related to the increase in flights and destinations, but also to the continuous increase in the number of tourists choosing Albania.

Summer traffic at Tirana International Airport surged to new heights, peaking on August 17 with a record 60,291 passengers and 326 flights in a single day, while total monthly volume for August reached over 1.7 million travelers.

This strong performance highlights Albania’s expanding global reach and booming tourism, cementing Tirana International Airport as a vital regional hub.

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Following Operation Balkan Eye-1, this meeting reviewed the operation’s 19 law enforcement seizures. Interventions targeted narcotics trafficking, the smuggling of cash and precious metals, and broader customs violations.

Delegates focused on the growing crisis of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. To combat this, they highlighted the urgent need for countries to work together, share critical information, and coordinate law enforcement and health responses.

Albanian Customs is expanding global partnerships to stop cross-border crime, secure our borders, and facilitate legal trade. /e.xh/r.e/a.f/p.s./

The event, regarded as one of the most important fixtures on Albania’s swimming calendar, attracted more than 500 swimmers from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Türkiye, Slovenia and Italy, who competed in various disciplines over two days.

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared footage from the event on social media on Tuesday, saying that Teuta Cup 2026 had delivered memorable moments as swimmers from six countries came together in what he described as a true celebration of sport.

The competition was marked by a high level of performance and strong rivalry, reaffirming the importance of the Teuta Cup as a platform for developing and promoting young swimming talent.

The event concluded with an awards ceremony for the winners, while organizers praised the strong turnout and sportsmanship displayed throughout the weekend.

With this year’s edition, Durres further strengthened its position as a regional swimming hub, reinforcing its tradition of hosting international sporting events.

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Koçiu took part in a meeting of the Growth and Reform Facility (RGF) Monitoring Committee held at the Bank of Albania, attended by international partners and relevant institutions, where progress and next steps in Albania’s EU accession process were discussed.

In a social media post, she said Albania had completed 33 reform measures across five policy pillars and secured more than 212 million euros in budget support and strategic investments.

“Albania is moving at a fast pace towards Brussels,” Koçiu said, adding that the country is leading the Western Balkans in reform implementation.

She said the government remained fully committed to advancing reforms with concrete results, describing EU integration as an “irreversible objective”.

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During a press conference today, Malaj turned his attention to inflation, an indicator that has dominated recent discussions amid shifting global dynamics and the Middle East crisis.

“Thanks to minimal impacts from Middle East tensions, Albania recorded the lowest April inflation rate among Western Balkan and EU countries”, said the minister.

According to Malaj, the low level of inflation constitutes an important indicator of the country’s economic stability and directly affects the well-being of citizens.

“This low inflation rate is an indicator of greater macroeconomic stability, but on the other hand it is also an indicator of the preservation of purchasing power for Albanian citizens in relation to other countries in the region”, he said.

The minister stressed that maintaining price stability remains a key element for the country’s economic development and for supporting domestic consumption, in a period when the economies of the region and beyond continue to face uncertainties created by geopolitical tensions and developments in international markets. /j.p/p.s./

Regionally, Belgrade (62.2 points) and Sofia (61.4 points) rank slightly higher, while Tirana scores better than Sarajevo (55.9 points) and Skopje (54 points).

Some of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas appear lower in the ranking, including Paris (42.1 points), London (44.7 points) and Brussels (44.3 points). Among the least safe cities listed are Naples (37.8 points) and Birmingham (36 points), often linked to urban challenges, high population density and more pronounced social issues.

Northern and Western European cities dominate the top of the ranking, reflecting consistently high urban safety standards. The Hague ranks first with 78.8 points, followed by Trondheim and Tallinn. The top 10 also includes cities such as Munich, Ljubljana and Zurich, characterized by very low crime levels, effective institutions and high standards of living.

Overall, the data point to a clear geographic divide, with Northern and Western European cities leading on safety, while Southern Europe and parts of the Balkans record lower levels. Within this context, Tirana is positioned as a moderately safe city, outperforming several regional capitals, though still leaving considerable room for improvement compared with Europe’s safest urban centres.

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Speaking at the seventh National Conference on the Right to Information, Rama referred to a report by SIGMA, an OECD-EU initiative that evaluates public administration performance.

“SIGMA assesses the performance of Albanian institutions from a sufficient distance to ensure objectivity and concludes that Albania has a functional and sustainable architecture for transparency,” Rama said.

He noted that Albania scored 8.6 out of 10 for its strategic and institutional framework and 7 out of 9 for the functioning of the authority overseeing the right to information.

The government head also cited a transparency index recently published by the European Centre for Anti-Corruption and State-Building, which he said showed Albania’s score rising by about five percentage points this year, from 73% to 78%.

He said the global average stood at 62%, while the regional average was 69%.

“Albania is therefore 10 points above the regional average,” Rama said, adding that this reflected progress but should not lead to complacency.

Despite the gains, he said institutions should be further encouraged to improve transparency, warning that reluctance to share administrative information harms trust rather than protecting public bodies.

“Such hesitation creates information gaps, suspicion and room for conspiracy,” Rama said.

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According to the Ministry of Justice, this forum brought together representatives of the Ministries of Justice, prosecutors, judges and other justice system actors from the Western Balkans and Ukraine.

Deputy Minister of Justice Hoxha emphasized in her speech that Albania has established sustainable legal and institutional mechanisms for the protection of victims, strengthening investigations and migration management, which are reflected in several strategic documents.

Hoxha also emphasized that our country cooperates closely with the countries of the region, bringing significant improvements in investigations, prosecutions and trials of cases of migrant smuggling and trafficking of human beings.

There is also improved the information exchange and the use of technology, relying on the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. /e.i/ /a.g/p.s./