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European Parliament expects amendment to law on protected areas by end of year

2026-09-21 18:42:35Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

European Parliament expects amendment to law on protected areas by end of year

The European Parliament expects Albania to amend the law on protected areas by the end of this year in the framework of the implementation of this parliament's resolution and the requirements related to the negotiations for membership in the European Union.

The issue was part of the discussions during the 22nd meeting of the EU-Albania Stabilization and Association Joint Parliamentary Committee.

MEP Isabel Wiseler-Lima expressed on Monday in Tirana her belief that these amendments will be on the Assembly's agenda soon as an obligation to fulfill the demands set out in an EP resolution and the standards of European legislation.

“I am convinced that this will be taken into account and that the amendment will be approved by the end of the year,” she told BIRN after the meeting, adding that she hoped that this issue “would go in the right direction.”

MEP Wiseler-Lima links her belief that this issue will be addressed quickly by the Albanian government to the demands for the conclusion of negotiations on Chapter 27, which covers the environment and climate change.

At the height of the protests against the tourist project in Zvërnec, approved by the government on the basis of new legal changes made unilaterally and without consultation in 2024, the EP urged the Albanian government to immediately impose a moratorium on new permit procedures, construction works and development interventions in protected areas, until the repeal of the incompatible provisions of the amended law on protected areas.

Since the adoption of the resolution in June, the Albanian government and parliamentary majority have not taken any concrete steps to repeal the provisions that paved the way for massive tourist construction in coastal areas, including the Zvërnec project.

Wiseler-Lima also demanded that the Albanian authorities listen to the voices of citizens who have been protesting in the streets for months and that parliament not become a shield of immunity for those wanted by justice.

"The role of parliament is not always to approve laws, but to also listen to the voices of citizens. Citizens have been sending a clear signal over the past few months and they must be heard," she said during her discussion at the joint roundtable.

Meanwhile, MEP Chiara Gemma linked the debate on protected areas to the economic development model, arguing that growth cannot be concentrated only along the coast, while inland areas face depopulation and a lack of opportunities.

From the majority, MP Pirro Vengu said that the majority had no 'complex' to change the laws, but that this would be decided within the framework of the negotiations for Chapter 27.

According to him, it should be seen as the right and demand of the residents of the area who seek the protection of nature, as well as of entrepreneurs or other residents who seek development. “Politics must reconcile interests when they clash,” he said.

For the opposition MPs, members of this committee, the European Parliament's position was clear and that the request to repeal the amendments to the law on protected areas should be implemented as soon as possible by the Assembly.


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