Albaniaโs former president arrested on corruption allegations
Relations between the country’s former president and current PM have deteriorated.
Relations between the country’s former president and current PM have deteriorated.
All 16 migrants set to be returned from Albania to Italy after their countries of origin deemed unsafe.
But it could still take decades before the country joins the bloc.
Join host Giada Santana and senior editor Alice Taylor in unpacking the start of Albania’s EU membership negotiations.
No migrants from Germany in Albanian centres, PM Edi Rama insists
Albanian police fired teargas to disperse protesters who hurled petrol bombs at government buildings and smashed city property in Tirana on 7 October. Demonstrators are demanding that the government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker until next ye…
Trattoria Meloni contains 70 portraits of Italian PM and is near site where arrivals to the EU are processedA restaurant dedicated to Giorgia Meloni has opened in the vicinity of a camp in Albania where the asylum claims of people who seek to enter the…
Prime Minister Edi Rama says he wants to promote tolerant Islam by creating the statelet.
The days when Viktor Orbรกn could block negotiations on a whim should be over โ and the western Balkans should finally benefit Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine has revived EU expansion as an imperative. For years, โenlargementโ has been a low priority โ Cro…
The agreement signed last year by Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea while keeping them in Albania, a move that has garnered both criticism and support.
PM wants to rethink UKโs immigration policies but did not make progress on returns deal at summit with EU leadersKeir Starmer is looking into plans to process asylum seekers outside the UK as part of a rethink of the governmentโs immigration policies, …
Demonstrators also demanded the release of opposition leader Sali Berisha who has been held under house arrest on corruption charges since last year.
Opposition protesters pelted Albania’s government buildings and the mayor’s office in the capital, Tirana, with petrol bombs, accusing state officials of involvement in organised crime and corruption after their leader was placed under house arrest. Th…
Opposition protesters pelted Albania’s government building and a mayor’s office with petrol bombs late on Thursday (11 July), accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of corruption and demanding his resignation.
Recent election of Greek MEP imprisoned in Albania fans diplomatic flames.
A video circulating on social media claims to show Prime Minister Edi Rama labelling the US, Soviet Union and Israel as the worldโs three โevilsโ.
Former British PM enjoys hero status in Kosovo because of the role he played in the countryโs liberation.
Edi Rama dashes hopes of other rightwing governments in Europe of outsourcing asylum to Balkan nation
A new administration risks rekindling old tensions with Bulgaria and Greece โ which can both throw up major obstacles to Skopje.
In Athens, many see ethnic Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri as a victim of political charges. In Albania, he is viewed as a more sinister figure.
NATOโs Kucova air base in Albania was officially opened on Monday in the presence of key government officials, including Prime Minister Edi Rama, who described it as an important security element for the Western Balkans and the wider region.
The Western Balkans is ready to contribute to the fight against Russia amid European and Western โexcusesโ and โconstraintsโ over aid, adding that EU member states need the region for its security, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama in an interview b…
Up to 36,000 people will be held in northwest Albania per year under the agreement.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has jumped to the defence of Kosovo, noting its right to enforce its own constitution in relation to new rules from the Central Bank, reinforcing that the euro is the only legal tender in the country.
Sali Berisha is accused of abusing his power when he led Albania over a decade ago.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promises to stay until the end of the legislature as long as she has the consent of the Italians, she said at Fratelli dโItaliaโs annual event where many leaders, including Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, UK Prim…
MPs set off smoke bombs in middle of chamber in failed attempt to stop vote on 2024 budgetAlbaniaโs opposition has set off smoke bombs and started a small fire in the middle of parliament in a failed attempt to stop the chamber from voting on the 2024 …
Divisions over the war in the Middle East, the Italy-Albania migration deal, and other political events involving Socialist leaders underlined the fragility of the European Socialist family during its congress in Mรกlaga last weekend, just seven months …
Italyโs left-wing Democratic Party has called for Albaniaโs Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, to be expelled from the European Socialist Party over the controversial deal he struck with conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni …
Thousands of refugees and asylum seekers rescued from the Mediterranean by Italian vessels will be sent to Albania for processing following an agreement between Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Monday. But the decis…
The plan will see up to 36,000 people per year held in northwest Albania.
Neighbouring country would house up to 3,000 people rescued at sea by Italian boats, with some exceptions for vulnerable groupsItalyโs far-right government has announced plans to create centres in Albania to accommodate asylum seekers, the prime minist…
Giorgia Meloni and Edi Rama sign agreement to outsource Italian asylum process
Neighbouring country would house up to 3,000 people rescued at sea by Italian boats, with some exceptions for vulnerable groupsItalyโs far-right government has announced plans to create centres in Albania to accommodate asylum seekers, the prime minist…
Albaniaโs Special Prosecutorโs Office has accused former president and prime minister Sali Berisha and his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, of passive corruption to the tune of โฌ5.4 million, something they both deny, accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of t…
France has made a U-turn over the last year on letting new members join the bloc.
The European Commission, Council and Parliament cannot make promises about enlargement as many of them will no longer be there next year and it will not be their decision to take, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in an interview.
Russia is relishing โ and partly fueling โ chaos in a series of global flashpoints that divert the West’s energies from Ukraine.
49 leaders, 700 journalists, dozens of bilateral meetings … and no decisions.
Five-point plan seeks to tackle organised crime across Europe as well as criminals operating boatsThe EU has joined forces with the UK and Albania to extend the fight against people smugglers across the wider continent, following forceful interventions…
Edi Rama calls on western leaders to solve โnever-ending madnessโ among Balkan countries
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has joined in criticism of EU Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak and Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell, calling on the EU Commission to act regarding the murder of a Kosovo policeman and the day of…
Prime Minister Edi Rama hosted the ministers of economy of 20 regional and European countries in Tirana on Tuesday within the framework of the Berlin Process and emphasised that the EU needs the Western Balkans just as much as the…
The Security Council meeting offers a platform to both Ukraineโs president and a senior aide to Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took the floor at the UN Security Council on Wednesday (20 September) to launch an appeal for its reform, in a nod to countries of the Global South he hopes to win over for Kyiv’s peace efforts.