Albania

Italy’s Customs Agency said on Thursday that it had stopped 21 tons of non-hazardous waste from being illegally shipped to Albania.“In the course of controls against illegal trafficking, the customs office in Bari has sequestered 21 tons of special non-hazardous waste,” the Italian customs agency said. “The shipment collected in …

New Central Bank data show that consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in seven years.According to the bank, consumer confidence in the economy slid by 1.3 point in the second quarter of 2012, compared with its last estimate. The index registered the outlook of Albanian consumers towards the …

Albanian parties reached an agreement on Wednesday as the mandate of the parliamentary commission tasked with improving the electoral code was due to expire.The agreement covers a series of divisive issues, including the re-election of the members of the Central Electoral Commission, CEC, the use of technology in the electoral …

The head of the Army’s Secret Service, Colonel Ylli Zyla, resigned on Thursday following media reports linking his wife to arms traders.“I am resigning to protect my integrity, the integrity of my family and the integrity of the army’s secret service as an institution part of NATO member state,” Zyla …

New Minister of Interior Flamur Noka on Thursday admitted that stopping the cultivation of drugs was a challenge – but promised a war without tolerance or compromise.“The cultivation of narcotics in the country remains one of the key challenges facing the state police and the community,” Minister Noka told the …

Efforts to strike a deal in the parliamentary commission tasked with improving the electoral code have run again into the sand without a comprehensive agreement on reforms.Speaking to fellow Democratic Party MPs, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said on Tuesday that the ruling centre-right coalition had made efforts to accommodate opposition …

Albanian courts continue to issue lenient verdicts in cases involving corruption in the judiciary, hobbling Albania’s fight against the phenomenon.A court in the city of Fier earlier this week freed three suspects found guilty of a an attempt to bribe Albania’s Supreme Court. Although prosecutors proved that the three defendants …

According USAID’s 2011 civil society sustainability index, Albanian NGOs are increasingly shut out of the corridors of power and have little means of influencing public policy.The report by USAID makes grim reading for Albanian NGOs and civil society pressure groups. Despite efforts by NGO’s in 2011 to open up dialogue …

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has dismissed Dick Marty’s report on organ trafficking during the Kosovo war, saying it was influenced by Belgrade.“When I learned that the major part of the report was written [by Serb Prosecutor Vladimir] Vukcevic, I felt dismayed,” Berisha said, responding to MPs’ questions in the …

Tarrif disputes between the two Albanian countries are hampering the goal of creating a single market – with a row over cement being the latest example.Ever since NATO helped mainly Albanian Kosovo break away from Serbia more than a decade ago, talk of creating a single market with neighbouring Albania …