Albania

WASHINGTON, United States The US Helsinki Committee said on Thursday (June 4th) that Albania’s general elections later this month presents an opportunity for the country to organise its first vote in line with international standards.

TIRANA, Albania About 60 tonnes of crude oil was dumped into a channel that connects the coast of Vlora with the Ionian Sea, causing significant environmental damage, police said Wednesday (June 3rd). Three people were arrested, including the head of the Arkand Junior company. Investigators say the material was intentionally …

USAID, says that the process of distributing new identity documents to voters ahead of June 28 elections is problematic. About 760,000 of Albania’s three million citizens do not have passports, and will be allowed to cast ballots in the upcoming elections only upon obtaining a new identity card. 

TIRANA, Albania Albania has started implementing a visa regime for foreign visitors, media reported on Tuesday (June 2nd). Under the new regulations, the visitors will have to follow procedures similar to those Albanians must follow when travelling abroad. In order to obtain a visa, foreigners will have to book a …

TIRANA, Albania Interior Minister Bujar Nishani says Albania has produced 1 million new electronic ID cards since January and that the rest will be in the hands of citizens before they need them to vote in the June 28th parliamentary elections. Nishani said on Sunday (May 31st) that there is …

Crews working on the tunnel of the new highway connecting Albania and Kosovo completed work on Sunday, inaugurating the breakthrough with a celebration ceremony attended by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. The 5.6-kilometre tunnel is part of the Rreshen-Kalimash road – one of the …

Participants in the ongoing dialogue between Albanian political leaders and Serb representatives in South Serbia assess their talks as ”constructive”, expressing hope that disputed issues will be resolved soon. Talking to Balkan Insight, Nedad Djurdjevic, director of the Coordination Body that was established in 2000 to resolve grievances between the …

The Albanian government has come under harsh criticism from the opposition after an EU progress report said Tirana is not as close to fulfilling requirements needed to liberalise the visa regime as some of its neighbours are. According to the report Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far failed …

A resolution adopted the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, which welcomes cooperation with Kosovo and calls on the international community to continue to foster the country’s economy, has been greeted as a success by both Pristina and Belgrade. But while both countries claim victory, they give very different interpretations to …

The US Ambassador in Tirana, John L Withers, on Monday appealed to Albanian citizens from the town of Berat to apply for new identity cards so they can vote in the June 28 parliamentary elections. The appeal follows a similar call made last week by the head of the OSCE …