18/06/2026
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🚨 BREAKING
European Parliament calls for immediate moratorium on developments in Vjosa-Narta! 🚨
Just now, the EU Parliament adopted its resolution on the 2025 Commission Report on Albania, expressing serious concerns about the ongoing developments within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area and saying that the rule of law and EU environmental standards are non-negotiable conditions of accession.
The resolution calls for the repeal of Albania's 2024 amendments to the Law on Protected Areas, legislation that has enabled the destruction of one of the Mediterranean's most exceptional natural sites.
It also calls for an “immediate moratorium on new permitting procedures, construction works and development interventions within protected areas until incompatible provisions of Albania's amended Law on Protected Areas are repealed and full compliance with EU nature protection standards is ensured”.
The adopted resolution specifically calls for the repeal of the 2024 amendments to the Law on Protected Areas, which allow large-scale tourism infrastructure inside protected zones and strip away key environmental oversight mechanisms.
MEPs also expressed deep concern over Albania's Law on Strategic Investments, whose accelerated permitting procedures risk bypassing environmental scrutiny in sensitive areas.
Since the beginning of May 2026, construction has proceeded inside the protected area without any published project, environmental impact assessment, public consultation or valid permit – in direct contradiction of Albania's accession commitments under both the Environmental acquis and Cluster 1 on the rule of law. This comes on top of the illegal construction of Vlora International Airport in the same area, which started in November 2021.
Anouk Puymartin, our Head of Policy, said:
“Today the European Parliament has stood with the thousands of Albanians on the streets of Tirana. Protecting Vjosa–Narta, and respecting the Birds and Habitats Directives, are a fundamental condition of EU accession. The Albanians protesting in Tirana already knew that defending nature and defending democracy are the same fight. Today, the European Parliament said so too.”
