The reform of integrated waste management and a comprehensive plan of legal measures and investments, as a necessity for Albania’s path toward EU membership, were at the center of today’s meeting with local government representatives, chaired by Prime Minister Edi Rama and Minister of Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro.
“I want everyone, without exception, at all levels and across the entire territory, who holds a public function, whether elected or appointed, and is connected to environmental issues, to become fully aware that this is the most challenging chapter of the negotiations, and the most demanding aspect of our EU accession,” emphasized Prime Minister Rama in his remarks.
He announced that the government will soon present a new package of reforms and measures, with particular emphasis on the new draft law “On Integrated Waste Management,” which envisions the establishment of the National Waste Treatment Operator.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Welcome, and I hope you’ve had a few quiet days of rest. Meanwhile, as in every summer season, neither the Ministry of Tourism and Environment nor its agencies—and not even the Minister herself—have taken a single day off, due to the significant challenge of managing the substantial increase in waste volumes caused by the growing number of visitors and tourists.”
That said, I want to emphasize that this year, we’ve seen noticeable improvement in most areas affected by this increase in tourism and, consequently, in volumes wasted. Of course, there have been some issues, but even this year, starting with the Municipality of Lezha, which continues to lead by example in cleanliness, followed by Shkodra, Durrës, Himara, and others, things have gone better than last year. There is, clearly, encouraging progress.
On the other hand, a lack of uniformity remains a challenge, especially along the coastal areas, where some problematic zones persist. This calls for an even faster pace in our reforms and legal measures, aligned with our national ambition and the achievement of our top-priority objective: EU membership by the end of this decade.
That journey begins with the formal closure of accession negotiations by the end of 2027, as preliminarily agreed with the European Commission. I want everyone, without exception, at all levels and across the entire territory, who holds a public function, whether elected or appointed, and who is connected with environmental matters, to become fully aware: this is the most challenging chapter of the EU negotiations, and it is the most demanding aspect of our path to membership in the European Union.
I must regretfully emphasize that, although we have observed significant progress in the overall cleaning processes, we do not yet see a meaningful shift in public awareness regarding keeping the environment clean, nor do we notice substantial improvements in waste treatment.
Given these circumstances, considering the progress already made, the respective difficulties, obstacles, and delays, as well as the experiences of other countries, we will move forward with a new package of reforms and measures. The Minister will provide further details, but I would like to highlight the following key points:
First, the new draft law on integrated waste management, which foresees the establishment of a national waste treatment operator, an agency, an institution, a new enterprise, that will serve the entire Republic. This operator will support municipalities, citizens, and the national mission of EU accession by centralizing the process of waste collection and treatment. Waste management will no longer be solely administered by municipalities but will instead be coordinated by this national operator, in cooperation with other governance structures, with municipalities acting as clients like their relations with other service providers.
Secondly, the challenge of aligning with European Union directives. This new law seeks to ensure 100% approximation of EU directives with Albanian legislation. While we have made visible progress in cleaning, keeping the country and especially beaches clean during the tourist season, and in improving waste treatment compared to where we started—a situation entirely disconnected from the concept of waste management, we remain in a primitive state regarding waste separation at source, the extended responsibility of producers (including plastic packaging, paper, glass, electronic devices, batteries, and vehicles). Albania is likely the only country in Europe where car graveyards exist in practice without any proper legislation, left to arbitrary local arrangements. A nationwide operation to eliminate these sites has just begun and will continue.
Furthermore, Albania still lacks binding obligations for producers, distributors, and importers to report and finance what happens to packaging, electronic devices, batteries, and vehicles after their use. For this reason, another draft law will be submitted to Parliament this year.
Another necessity is the revision of the national strategy and master plan for investments, for waste separation at source, for recycling, and for tariffs in line with EU standards.
These are the key legal and regulatory steps we will undertake to align our legislation with Chapter 27 of the EU acquis (Environment), strengthen the national system, clearly define institutional, municipal, and private responsibilities, establish the waste management hierarchy (from prevention, to recycling, to recovery, to disposal), introduce missing economic instruments, and create a Waste Economy Fund.
Meanwhile, regarding urgent challenges and investment needs, the priority is to assume responsibility for waste treatment as a shared national obligation, as well as to ensure accountability at all levels for the entire process of waste recycling and disposal, across all categories mentioned.
Without these two fundamental steps, establishing the legal framework and ensuring full implementation, our path in negotiating the environmental chapter has no way forward. Naturally, there are other measures, but these two are central and essential.
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In conclusion, I would like to stress once again that this is truly the challenge of challenges in Albania’s EU accession process. The experience of other countries that preceded us demonstrates clearly that the environmental chapter has been the most difficult part of their transformation. Ultimately, EU accession is about transforming the country itself. That is the most important impact and the greatest added value of this process.
As the Minister has presented with concrete data, we have many reasons to be proud of the progress achieved so far, but equally many reasons to be concerned about the scale of the challenge ahead. The mountain to be climbed by the end of this decade, coinciding with our fourth mandate, is immense. This is because the task cannot be fulfilled by the central government alone, separate from local government, nor by the state separated from its citizens.
What is required is broad awareness, especially among all those whose duties are directly linked to waste management, strong commitment, and extraordinarily complex organization to involve all of them. Without this, the process cannot succeed, and Albania cannot meet its obligations, first and foremost to itself. These steps are not only milestones on the road to EU accession; they represent direct benefits for Albania and its people, improving the quality of life and the environment across our territory and settlements.
For these reasons, it is of the utmost importance to raise the level of motivation and performance across all links of this chain, from municipalities, where the foundation lies, to all levels of governance, business, and education, including schools.
Thank you once again for your attention. I sincerely hope we will achieve better coordination of efforts and energies to successfully overcome this great and complex challenge.
