Albania's parliament

During a joint meeting on Monday in Pristina between the governments of Kosovo and Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that he will personally submit a report to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg being prepared in Albania's parliament querying the Dick Marty report and what he alleged was its Russian influence.

New Beginning

Albania President - elect, Bajram Begaj. Photo credits: Edi Rama Facebook

After the often turbulent and anything-but-dull five year term of Ilir Meta as President of Albania, is the country about to get a 'normal' president? On Saturday June 4, Albania's Parliament elected Bajram Begaj as the country's new President, due to take office at the end of July.

Albania's parliament is set to vote for a new president on Saturday, but no candidates' names are known or even rumoured, less than 24 hours ahead of the vote.

In 2015, Albania's parliament approved a bill designed to attract major investments - but seven years on, it's clear that local businesses eyeing short-term profits have reaped most of the benefits.

Last week, the Stockholm-based international human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders awarded her the prestigious prize of civil rights defender for her work to bring change to the community in her country, alongside Uganda's Frank Mugisha.

After boycotting Albania's parliament for around two years, one of the first initiatives of the opposition when it returned in September, after losing the April 25 elections, was vetting politicians.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha has called for the same vetting procedure to be applied to politicians as to justice officials.

The European Union office in Tirana has voiced concern about the political impartiality of the new members and chief of Albania's main media regulatory body.

Albania's parliament on Monday announced vacancies for four positions on the board of the country's Audio-visual Media Authority, AMA, without waiting for the new parliament elected in the April 25 elections to give its view, prompting concerns about the creation of a one-sided board supportive of Edi Rama's ruling Socialists.

Albania's parliament on Friday voted to set up a commission to examine the possible ousting of the country's President, Ilir Meta.

It came after a.group of ruling Socialist deputies requested his dismissal, accusing him of interfering in the April 25 legislative elections in violation of the constitution.

Shehu is one of scores of Albanian army officers who joined the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA in its war against the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police and paramilitaries in 1999.