Overview
- Thousands of protesters filled Tirana in the largest demonstrations so far on Wednesday, pressing demands to stop the Zvernec and Sazan projects and chanting “Albania is not for sale.”
- The country’s anti-corruption office opened a probe earlier in June into legal changes and land deals that fast‑tracked approvals for the developments.
- Brussels has formally told Albanian authorities to avoid actions that could undermine environmental benchmarks required for EU accession and has sought assurances a full impact assessment will be carried out.
- Videos and eyewitness reports show excavators, fencing and private security at the nature reserve site, and authorities have suspended some security licences and made at least one arrest after clashes with campaigners.
- Prime Minister Edi Rama says the projects will proceed and calls them transformational for tourism while critics warn the 2024 rule changes that enabled fast‑tracking risk harming protected wetlands and Albania’s EU path, with the Serbia precedent cited as a cautionary example.