According to the decision, the call termination fee on fixed networks will be reduced from 0.7 lekë per minute to 0.3 lekë from 1 March 2026, to 0.15 lekë from 1 September 2026 and will reach the final level of 0.07 lekë per minute on 1 March 2027.

AKEP emphasized that the current tariffs are higher than the average of the 27 European Union countries and that the reduction aims to foster competition and create conditions for lower tariffs for end users.

The decision includes all active fixed telephony operators, which have been declared to have significant market power in the call termination market.

According to AKEP data, at the end of last year in Albania there were 165,380 fixed telephone subscribers, with an annual decrease of 4.5%. /a.f/p.s./

During his speech, Berisha said that, “We will negotiate for zero tariffs with the United States of America”.

“Our stance on tariffs is negotiations with the US government for zero tariffs. We will set zero tariffs with the request that the US government respond to us with zero tariffs, too”, said Berisha.

Berisha added that, “Let us suppose that the US government, for its own reasons, does not adopt this; then, we will fully compensate you for the export tariff set by the countries where you export”.

Berisha said that the entire production process of the medicinal plants up to exports will be strongly subsidized.

“Our most famous products are aromatic and ethereal plants, the most popular, the most preferred in international markets. This means that we will attach great importance to this sector. Great logistical facilities will be created for the collection of these plants. Great facilities will be created for the industry of their processing in the country”, said Berisha. /r.e/p.s./

In a press release, the Directorate said that it has already made a review and indexing of all fees and services.

According to a detailed analysis, it comes out that the citizens can benefit from the extension of the validity time of some documents.

Thus, the tariff for a driving license with a validity period of 10 years, from 3,500 ALL becomes 4,500 ALL, but the validity period is now extended to 15 years. This means an average of 300 ALL/year compared with 350 ALL/year!

The tariff for the driver’s license for the over 65 age group, with a validity period of 5 years, from 3,500 ALL, now becomes 2,000 ALL, with a validity period of 15 years!

The tariff for getting an International Driving License with a validity period of 1 year, from 500 ALL, goes to 1,000 ALL, but the validity period becomes 3 years. And the tariff means 333 ALL/year!

The transition from Category B Driving License to D/D1, without the mandatory transition to category C, from ALL 2,200, becomes 0, as the testing for category C has been eliminated!

Thus, 189,179 citizens benefit 7.7 million Euros savings per year from the change in these tariffs.

“This decision, regarding the change of tariffs for the driving license service, enters into force on February 5, 2024 and will be reflected on the official website www.dpshtrr.gov.al,” is read in the press release of the Directorate of Road Transport Services. /p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared today on social media the images of the transformation of the technical control building in the capital, part of the transformation plan of the infrastructure of all the regional directorates of the Albanian Road Transport Services.

The prime minister said that, “Half of Albania’s vehicles used to be tested at Tirana’s automobile depot and every driver who stopped there once in year was charged with high tariffs”.

According to him, “The images today, when the concession has been canceled and this service is performed by the General Directorate of Road Transport Service speak for themselves, just as the significantly reduced rates of transport services speak for themselves”.

Meanwhile, the Directorate continues to make other investments in buildings. After the transformation of most of the Road Transport Service facilities across the country has become a reality, investment will now be made in the central General Directorate, currently functioning at reduced capacity because of the damages caused by the earthquakes and classified as an object for reconstruction by the Construction Institute. /m.m/j.p/p.s./

In the press conference held today from Prishtina with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Rama said that, “This is a problem that we have addressed with all governments before”, answering the question about a concrete date for the abolition of tariffs for businesses of Kosovo.

“Kosovo side has asked for more time to study the issue of tariff abolition”, stated Rama.

The prime minister added that, “We have completed this process from the point of view of the study and Kosovo companies will benefit. Not everyone will benefit at the same time, no problem, but some will benefit, as the ambition is to increase trade volume.”

Kurti said that they are interested in sharing this agreement.

“We are interested in joining in this aspect, so it is a very serious agreement and in the coming months the mutual trade exchange and investments in each other country will increase. We are interested in as much cooperation as possible, but today we did not have a regional meeting, but a bilateral and fraternal one “, said Kurti./j.p/r.e/p.s./