Edi Rama

Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama. Photo: LSA

However, Ornela Liperi, editor of Albania's weekly economic magazine Monitor, told BIRN the Prime Minister might be exaggerating to justify an unpopular coming price rise.

Though not necessarily illegal, experts warn that when money is redirected through offshore jurisdictions, the risk of corruption rises.

Some 111 Afghan evacuees arrive at the Pristina International Airport airport​ in Pristina, Kosovo, August 29. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Care packages and computers

What remains unclear is what can be done about it. 

Joint declaration denouncing Serbia's irredentist aims

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (C), Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (L) and North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev (R) shake hands after the press conference. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC.

The European Commission is hoping to start accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia before the end of the year, its president Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, as she started a regional tour ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit on 6 October, news wires reported. "The future of North Macedonia is in the EU. We want you by our side.

Ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit on 6 October, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will be in the Western Balkans between Tuesday and Thursday, to visit Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, EC Press service reported.

There are no indications of an imminent solution on the ground. Members of the special unit of the Kosovo Police are not withdrawing. Due to their presence, Serbs are not withdrawing either.

The Socialist Party-controlled parliamentary administration offered MPs laptops for free on Thursday as it announced that parliamentary committee debates will now be held online, following a recommendation by the Committee of Experts, a body that advises the government on measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Farewells

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (not in picture) during a press conference in Tirana, Albania, 14 September 2021. The German Chancellor is in Albania to participate in the Western Balkan Summit. EPA-EFE/MALTON DIBRA

Germany's credibility was always high in the Western Balkans, much of it due to Merkel, whose Germany has been crucial to shaping the debate on EU enlargement to the region.

However, in order to maintain this credibility, the next German government will have to adapt to new challenges and circumstances pertaining to the region.