Albania's parliament

Albania's parliament voted on Thursday to set up an investigative committee to collect information on other investigations conducted by local and international bodies into alleged crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in Albania in the war in Kosovo two decades ago.

The parliament will then present a resolution based on the findings.

JANUARY

January 11 - Romania begins a six-month EU Council presidency amid anti-government protests at home and calls from EU leaders to respect the rule of law.

January 17 - Human Rights Watch's World Report 2019 highlights threats to journalists and minority and immigrants' rights as key problems in the Balkans.

Anti-government protesters broke through police cordons and attempted to storm Albania's parliament during a major opposition-led rally in Tirana on Saturday.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd, many of whom had come prepared with gas masks.

Luigi Soreca, EU Delegation Ambassador in Tirana (front) and Knut Fleckenstein, rapporteur for Albania in the European Parliament, after meeting opposition leaders in Tirana on 28 February 2019. Photo: Malton Dibra/LSA

Knut Fleckenstein, the German rapporteur for Albania, said quitting parliament was wrong.

Opposition protesters throw flares while police officers protect Albania's parliament on 21 February 2019. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

Opposition parties summoned their protesters on Thursday morning to near the parliament in Tirana, where police deployed about 1,000 officers, equipped with gas masks and some in full anti-riot gear.

It was expected to be an eventful political season when Albania's parliament reopened earlier this month, with an agenda of reforms needed to open the way for the start of EU membership negotiations next June.

After the Council of Europe postponed a decision on this issue last June, reforms that need cross-party agreement, such as electoral reform, have become a matter of urgency.

Aqif Rakipi, a powerful politician in the Elbasan region from the Justice, Unity and Integration Party, PDIU, in central Albania, lost his mandate as a member of Albania's parliament on Friday, after prosecutors confirmed his role in a crime involving stolen goods in Italy in 1998.

Bulgaria is pushing for official recognition of a Bulgarian minority in Kosovo, not only as a follow-on to the recent recognition of a Bulgarian minority in Albania, but as part of "regular state policy", the head of the State Agency for Bulgarians, Petar Haralampiev, told BIRN on Friday.

MEPs from different countries and political parties are preparing a letter to the parliament of Albania, urging the country to recognize the Bulgarian national minority, reported bTV. 

Albania's parliament will complete the first round of electing a new President on Wednesday afternoon, even though no candidate will be up for a vote.