Albanien

Albania has finally opened accession talks with the European Union at an intergovernmental conference held in Luxembourg on Tuesday. … Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, declared that “the EU needs the Western Balkans as much as the Western Balkans needs the EU.

Preliminary data from Albania's Central Election Commission shows that the ruling Socialist Party is leading in the majority of municipalities in the country, including the capital Tirana.

Media freedom remains a problem in many Balkan states, with journalists working in highly polarised political environments and encountering threats from criminal groups, says Reporters Without Borders' 2022 World Press Freedom Index. … In the Balkans, the situation declined significantly in several countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece, according to Reporters Without Borders’ ranking system of 180 states worldwide.

The United States of America will establish a Special Forces Command in Albania. In an interview with DW, former NATO General Erhard Bühler explains why this news is an important signal to the region.

Relations between Albania and Kosovo have hit a new low after a German official indicated Berlin’s support for the disputed regional “Open Balkan” project, which Kosovo staunchly opposes.

The International Monitoring Operation, created to oversee a vetting process in Albania launched under EU and US pressure in 2017, issued a decision saying Tirana chief prosecutor Elizabeta Imeraj “has significantly jeopardised public trust in the judicial system” and should be removed from the post.

After winning parliamentary elections, MPs from the Socialist Party submitted a request for the dismissal of President Ilir Meta, claiming he unlawfully intervened to support the opposition in the electoral campaign.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama declared victory for his Socialist Party and called for a public celebration as the counting of votes from the weekend’s bitterly-contested parliamentary elections draws to a close. … A report by international election monitors from OSCE/ODHIR said the voting on Monday and the counting process were accompanied only by smaller omissions and incidents. However, the report noted that vote-buying remains a serious problem in Albania, among other issues.

Albania’s Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK, announced it had identified three episodes of vote manipulation during 2017 elections that returned Socialist PM Edi Rama for a second term, a development hailed by the US but which the opposition said merely “scratched the surface”.