Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Change 1

Added22. Acknowledges that the Greek national minority retains its strong historical presence, especially in Southern Albania and calls on Albania to ensure the protection of the right of property;

Change 2

Changed37.38. Welcomes the adoption of Albania’s Strategy for the Modernisation and Harmonisation of Albanian Customs Information Systems with the EU systems for the period 2025-2030; commends the Albanian authorities for their efforts to meet EU standards by harmonising and improving customs infrastructure; stresses that customs IT systems require significant upgrading in order to achieve full harmonisation with EU standards and calls on the Albanian authorities to accelerate the necessary investments and reforms in this regard;

Change 3

Changed39.40. Warmly welcomes the Commission proposal and the Council’s authorisation to open negotiations to extend the EU ‘roam like at home’ regime to the Western Balkans, and calls on the CouncilCommission and the Western Balkan partners to swiftly authorisetake the openingnecessary ofsteps negotiations,for inthe thisreciprocal regard,opening withof the EU’s and the Western Balkan partners;partners’ roaming markets, enabling citizens and businesses to benefit from roaming services without additional charges;

Change 4

Added48. Highlights the fact that the Commission has cautioned Albania against actions that may impact its EU accession path amid ongoing national protests over a large-scale luxury development project that threatens a protected wildlife area home to flamingos, seals and turtle nesting sites; echoes, in this regard, the Commission’s criticism and recalls that alignment with EU environmental rules, including the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive, is a prerequisite for EU accession;

Added49. Expresses serious concern that ongoing developments within the Vjosa-Narta protected area demonstrate the practical consequences of these legislative changes and the resulting risks to areas of recognised ecological value; closely follows the ongoing peaceful mass protests in this regard; calls on the Albanian authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on all new permitting procedures, construction works and development interventions within protected areas until the incompatible provisions of the amended Law on Protected Areas have been repealed, on the basis of a long-standing request by the Commission and Parliament and in line with the closing benchmarks of Chapter 27, and until full compliance with EU nature protection standards has been ensured; underlines that any projects in this area need to undergo comprehensive environmental impact assessments fully in line with EU standards, including a transparent public participation process with local communities, scientists and civil society;