Brussels, 03 July 2026, dtt-net.com – The European Commission (EC) warned Albanian government that the country cannot close environmental negotiating chapter in ongoing accession talks, without correcting the law on ‘protected areas’ and annulment of the law on ‘strategic investments’.
The EC told dtt-net.com that Albania should make corrections to the law on ‘protected areas’ and annul the law on ‘strategic investments’, in order it can to close negotiating chapter 27 on ‘environment and climate change’ in the EU accession negotiations as the government of the Prime Minister Edi Rama has so far opened all 33 negotiating chapters in the short period of15 months and is hoping to start closing them soon.
The two controversial laws are part of the reasons of ongoing anti-government daily protests of thousands in capital Tirana for 34 days already, and increasing tensions in the country over prime minister’s insistence to go ahead with construction plans in coastal areas by Qatari investors and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“We can recall more generally that the repeal of the incompatible provisions in the amendments to the law on protected areas as well as the termination of the law on strategic investments are explicit conditions (closing benchmarks) to close Chapter 27,”a European Commission spokesperson told dtt-net.com today, when asked about protesters and opposition calls to the government of the Prime Minister Edi Rama over the two contested laws.
Earlier this week a proposal of the opposition Democratic Party (PD) to include in parliament’s session a draft-law on the abolition of amendments to the law on Protected Areas; draft-law on repeal of the law on Strategic Investments; draft-law on the abolition of the Mountain Package; and draft-law on the abolition of some provisions of the law on Cultural Heritage, were all rejected by Rama’s PS lawmakers, which prompted PD lawmakers to boycott the session.
Protesters are also calling for resignation of Rama , which the prime minister continues to reject, while the tensions in Tirana streets continue escalating with increasing clashes between police and protesters.
