In this Thursday's plenary session in the Assembly, the 2026 draft budget calendar was approved. This draft budget was approved only with the votes of the majority who voted in favor.
The head of the SP group, Taulant Balla, proposed that on December 11, the budget be voted on in its entirety.
Balla said that with this budget, pensions will increase and from January the minimum wage will go to 500 euros.
"On behalf of the SP group, I would like to congratulate the government for bringing to Parliament not only the largest budget in the history of Albania, but above all for the fact that this majority, the prime minister and the government, the people trusted us to increase pensions with this budget."
We all know that pensions are the most difficult part of a country's financial policy, I believe that you share our assessment, Albania is not a country that is barely standing on its feet. Pensioners will receive their bonus in December, but we will have a significant increase over the next 12 months. From January 1, the minimum wage will increase to 500 euros and from what you will read in the budget, not only pensioners will receive 100 million euros more. On December 11, the entire vote should be held," said Balla.
The opposition maintained its position that the budget should be withdrawn and brought to the Assembly along with the fiscal package, which has not yet been deposited.
"A miracle happens in this parliament, a budget project comes but it is not accompanied by the fiscal package as required by the regulation. Here we come to how Albanians' money will be spent, but where this money will come from, policies for taxes and levies so that we understand whether we have a balanced budget or whether it will require an excessive deficit in Albania. What the regulation and the Constitution require, they do not implement.
We are against the grand theft budget, which does not lift Albanians out of poverty, which gives more money to your concessionaires and ministers. We have seen that every fear, every stamp is a concession. 50 million in Llogara, the Health concession, check-ups that take out pregnant men. The data that is official, which comes in comparison from Eurostat and receives distorted data from your INSTAT shows that we are the champion in the region and Europe that we have 40.5% of the population in poverty.
"Your promise for pensioners is 60 lek per day for a pensioner in the city and 20 lek per day for a pensioner in the countryside. What can it do? You can make a big propaganda with this increase, but pensioners do nothing, they do not guarantee a better life, medicines or a better care system. Withdraw the budget and bring the fiscal package," said Zhupa.
But, with the votes of the Socialists, the calendar for the 2026 budget was approved.