Thursday 01:26
Daily Briefing
The honest answer: we still do not fully know An explainer for the Tirana Examiner On the morning of February 21, 2026, a hillside at Arrat e Gurrës near Dragostunjë collapsed, severing one of Albania’s most important internal transport corridors. Approximately 1,500 square metres of terrain slid downward, destroying a section of the national …
Daily Briefing
SkyECC messages helped prosecutors uncover a criminal organisation that trafficked nearly 1.9 tons of drugs into EU markets — and allegedly relied on a serving Albanian police officer embedded inside the system. by Eris Zenelaj (Tirana) Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) has issued arrest warrants for eight people in connection …
Daily Briefing
Inside the EU–Albania Subcommittee discussions that placed SPAK’s independence, criminal asset recovery, and the proposed Article 242 reform under European scrutiny. by Eris Zenelaj (Tirana) On 3 March in Brussels, Albania’s justice institutions appeared before one of the most consequential technical forums in the country’s EU accession process: the 17th meeting of the EU–Albania …
Daily Briefing
Albania’s Parliament, Thursday, 5 March 2026: nine hours from commemoration to chaos, a near-fight, a walkout, and votes passed without the opposition. by the Tirana Examiner Albania’s Parliament (Kuvendi) spent Thursday in a long, increasingly combustible sitting that opened with commemoration and ended in insults, a brief physical confrontation, an opposition walkout, and the …
Daily Briefing
Gazment Bardhi warns that unilateral appointments risk undermining institutional independence as Albania advances toward EU integration. by the Tirana Examiner (Albania) Albania’s opposition has raised fresh concerns over the independence of state institutions following a new round of appointments by the parliamentary majority. Gazment Bardhi, head of the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, warned on Tuesday that …
Daily Briefing
Opposition rhetoric shifts the debate from street clashes to systemic governance — but the concept remains politically potent and analytically contested. by Eris Zenelaj (Tirana) A heated exchange inside Albania’s parliamentary Commission on Tourism, Culture and Diaspora this week revealed how the language of political confrontation in Tirana is evolving. During a debate with Socialist …
Daily Briefing
A procedural dispute in one of Albania’s most prominent corruption trials reveals a deeper question about prosecutorial discipline, judicial independence, and the credibility of a reform system heavily backed by the EU and the United States. By Ardit Rada (Tirana) A seemingly technical dispute during this week’s hearing in the “Sterilization” case involving former …
Daily Briefing
FAZ journalist Michael Martens signals that Berlin sees little political space for rapid or “second-tier” EU integration — and that recognition of Kosovo remains central to Serbia’s path. by Eris Zenelaj (Tirana) The debate sparked by the joint proposal of Edi Rama and Aleksandar Vučić for phased or “second-tier” integration into the European Union …
Daily Briefing
After incendiary devices were thrown at a cultural residency hosting international artists in Tirana, opposition leader Sali Berisha issued an apology — while disputing key facts. The episode has triggered sharp European reactions and reopened questions about political accountability and the limits of protest in Albania. by the Tirana Examiner (Albania) The political and …
