The Left group in the European Parliament has tabled four amendments to the draft report on Albania, calling for the repeal of the 2024 amendments to the Law on Protected Areas and asserting that the Italy-Albania migration protocol must cease upon Albania's EU accession. The amendments, published on 10 June 2026, introduce a critical stance on the Albanian government's development model, particularly regarding environmental safeguards and rule-of-law standards.
The amendments target the tension between strategic investments and environmental protection, directly citing the European Commission's criticism of a luxury development threatening a protected wildlife area. Amendment 5 explicitly links this case to Albania's EU accession path, elevating environmental compliance as a formal benchmark. The Left group also challenges the Law on Strategic Investments, which the original report only "regrets."
On regional cooperation, Amendment 6 introduces a caveat that good neighbourly relations must not be used by EU Member States to compel Albania to undertake measures violating EU law or its national interests. This seeks to insulate the enlargement process from bilateral pressures, particularly with Greece.
The most politically charged change is Amendment 7, which asserts that upon Albania's EU accession, the Italy-Albania Memorandum on Migration will automatically cease to apply, and Italian detention centres in Albania must be closed. This pre-emptively resolves the protocol's future, framing it as incompatible with EU membership and solidarity.
As only The Left group has submitted amendments, the positions of other groups (EPP, S&D, Renew, etc.) are not yet known. The amendments represent a minority position seeking to harden the Parliament's stance on environmental compliance and migration, diverging from the likely centrist-to-conservative consensus of the draft report. The report, authored by Andreas Schieder, will be debated in plenary before a final vote.