Meanwhile, a security team stationed at the headquarters confronted the crowd until police forces arrived.

The police intervened, using tear gas and water to disperse the crowd.

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In its analytical report published on Sept. 21, the ratings agency said Albania’s economy had proved resilient to successive shocks in recent years, growing by an average of about 4% annually in real terms between 2022 and 2025.

S&P forecasts real GDP growth of 3.4% in 2026, down from 3.7% in 2025, followed by average annual growth of around 3% in 2027-2029. Growth is expected to be supported by services exports, private consumption and investment.

The country’s external position has strengthened, mainly due to strong tourism performance, while current account deficits narrowed significantly during 2023-2025.

S&P described Albania’s fiscal position as relatively strong compared with emerging markets and forecast a budget deficit of 2% of GDP in 2026, below the government’s 2.3% ceiling. It expects the deficit to average around 2% of GDP through 2029 and noted that Albania has recorded a primary surplus since 2023.

Public debt is projected to fall to 50.5% of GDP by the end of 2029, from 52.9% in 2025.

The agency also highlighted Albania’s progress towards European Union membership, including judicial reform, efforts to combat corruption and organised crime, and the opening of all six negotiating clusters.

Foreign exchange reserves rose to 8.1 billion euros, or 27% of GDP, at the end of July 2026, supported by strong services exports, particularly tourism, and foreign direct investment inflows.

The banking sector remains liquid and well-capitalised, with non-performing loans at 4% at the end of July, well below the 11% level recorded before the pandemic.

S&P’s assessment points to continued economic resilience, prudent fiscal management and a stronger external position, factors that support Albania’s sovereign credit profile.

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During the speech he delivered to the Parliamentary group of the Socialist Party and the government cabinet, Rama said that the entire new ecosystem of communication between the state and the Socialist Party with the citizen are not portals, nor slogans, but are components of an indispensable reform of the citizen-state relationship.

“I am happy that what we have done in this preparatory phase of the new political season has aroused interest and opposition. Albanians do not need another application to be added to the digital jungle. The Socialist Party does not need another calendar that produces meetings with itself and propaganda material”, Rama added.

The prime minister emphasized that, “The gap between us and the people of a reborn Albania cannot be bridged with a word as big as ‘BESA’.

“And above all, it is high time to start working together to bridge the gap between us and the people and it cannot be bridged with a simple and only communication campaign,” Rama said.

“BESA, “Loyal Presence”, “Pasqyrë Albania” and “Merit degree”, as well as the entire new ecosystem of state-citizen communication, are not portals, but components of an indispensable reform of the citizen-state relationship. A reform that assumes a new concept on 4 key points: how the state sees the problem, how the governing majority listens to the person, how the given word is kept, and how the door of public service is opened for merit”, emphasized Rama.

He added that, “In a decade, we have carried out a broad operation in the state organization, not uniform in all its components, somewhere broader and somewhere less”.

“Today, we are dealing with three critical wounds to our system. First, the bureaucratic labyrinth cuts citizens off from clear answers and accountability. Second, a lack of institutional memory means promises are made but never tracked. We fail to record what was done, what was delayed, and what changed. An institution cannot just be a set of rules; this lack of memory costs citizens and the state more than we realize”, underlined the head of the government.

Rama added that, “The hidden injury of a closed door—where who you know matters more than what you do, and favors outweigh the law—demands a clear fix, and “Pasqyrë Albania” together with the “Merit Scale” work to heal that wound.

The Prime Minister underlined that, “Pasqyrë Albania is a new space where technology and the opportunities it gives us in this phase of AI development connects people with the government. It allows citizens to question, monitor and get support from the state, making public services transparent and easy to use.” /a.f/r.e/p.s./

This means a proposed second wave of local government restructuring aimed at reducing and merging municipalities, adjusting local financing and responding to demographic shifts.

Thus, the proposal carries downsize of the total number of municipalities from 61 to 46 by consolidating 28 existing local units into 13 new ones ahead of the 2027 local elections.

Under the new structure, there will be 46 municipalities (with 20 containing more than one city), 71 constituent cities, and 387 municipal units.

The SP emphasized that this is not the end of the process. It is the moment when the proposal is sent to where it should be discussed: in the municipalities and among the citizens.

According to the SP, the proposal that the ruling majority presented today remains a strong basis on which political agreement can be built.

The majority MPs once again invited the opposition to review this package with state responsibility and, in the fall, to support this reform together with the majority, not for one party or the other, but for Albania and for the generations that will live in its cities. /m.q/a.f/p.s./

“Our only hope now is a massive, peaceful uprising of the people to bring an end to Edi Rama’s government,” said Berisha.

“It’s clear that Edi Rama operates as if the Constitution and the rule of law don’t exist, reducing SPAK to an extension of the Socialist Party,” Berisha said.

According to him, the only hope is what he described as a powerful peaceful popular uprising” for the removal of PM Rama.

Berisha called on members and supporters of the Democratic Party to support the youth civic protest, which has been going on for more than 50 days.

“I call on the entire Democratic Party family to stand firmly behind the youth civic protest, which has bravely held the front line for over 50 days,” Berisha said. /gj.m/j.p/p.s./

In a statement, the Socialist parliamentary group said its lawmakers and members of the European Parliament backed the recommendations, while accusing DP legislators of voting against them.

The Socialists said they had not submitted amendments to the draft text prepared by the committee’s secretariat because it already incorporated two key documents: the European Parliament’s resolution on Albania and a consensus resolution adopted by Albania’s parliament on the country’s EU accession process.

The ruling party said several amendments proposed by DP were nevertheless supported by Socialist lawmakers, while others were rejected because, it said, they omitted references to progress identified in the European Commission’s assessment of Albania and developments in the country’s accession negotiations.

The Socialist Party said it remained committed to supporting initiatives that advance Albania’s EU membership process “on the basis of facts, standards and concrete results.”

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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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“So, Iran has nothing to do with it…?”, Rama wrote in a post on social networks.

“Don’t forget what I told you from the beginning: Once the political theater of these protests falls away, the Socialist Party will emerge stronger and our governance will vastly improve “, Rama emphasized

In his statement on the 23rd day of the protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, Dritan Goxhaj presented the demands that the organizers describe as official and non-negotiable, drafted after consultations with the participants in the protest.

Earlier, Head of the SP Parliamentary group Taulant Balla described Goxhaj as a person who has publicly defended the Iranian regime and has held critical positions towards the United States of America, Israel and Albania. /gj.m/j.p/p.s./

At the start of the podcast “Flasim” (Let’s Talk), Rama said that the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the SP had been planned for a long time.

The prime minister emphasized that this is also a moment of reflection and commitment because Albania is better than it has ever been, but Albania still needs to become much better than it is.

“Ironically, this 35th anniversary serves as a meaningful pause to reflect. It offers a vital opportunity to catch our breath and understand what we can learn from the current wave of protests—a movement that, while tense, has thankfully remained peaceful in the public sphere”, he added.

“The association of the US President’s family with the disputed project has attracted a broad coalition of opposition forces. This dynamic has elevated Albania into a platform for competing geopolitical interests—drawing in both American and European detractors of the administration. Ultimately, these overlapping agendas have diverted the initial grassroots movement into a much wider-ranging political conflict”, said Rama.

Further on, the prime minister said that Albania is being flooded by a relentless wave of misinformation and half-truths that eclipse the facts with fantasy. While protests are a vital sign of a healthy democracy—especially when driven by citizens rather than political parties—we must not lose our ability to distinguish between legitimate debate and hysteria, or between passionate criticism and abusive bullying, said Rama.

According to PM Rama, a glance back at the last ten years highlights our country’s remarkable economic and institutional progress. It is fitting, he noted, that this 35th anniversary coincides with our strongest position yet on the road to Europe.

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Speaking at a party gathering, Rama said the Socialist Party aims to secure Albania’s place within the European family of nations.

“The Socialist Party’s mission is to place Albania in the crown of Europe. When Albania takes its place alongside the EU member states, it will be a historic achievement that future generations will remember,” Rama said.

He urged supporters to remain focused on the country’s European integration ambitions despite dissatisfaction with individual officials or day-to-day political grievances.

Rama described EU integration as a demanding but peaceful national undertaking that requires determination and long-term commitment rather than sacrifice in the traditional sense.

He also argued that opposition to Albania’s EU membership exists both abroad and within the country.

“Not everyone wants Albania in the European Union. There are forces across Europe that oppose Albania’s accession, and there are forces within Albania that work against this process as well,” Rama said.

The government head stressed that the current stage of Albania’s EU accession process represents a crucial opportunity and warned that losing momentum could delay the country’s European ambitions.

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