Ibrahimaj: Protest violence has harmed the economy, 90 businesses expected to receive compensation; what the “Youth Guarantee” entails

Economy and Innovation Minister Delina Ibrahimaj said in a live interview with journalist Ilir Kazaferi that the protests had caused damage to businesses and affected their economic activity. Small businesses have been hit hardest, she said, as they lack the financial resilience to continue paying wages during periods when they are forced to close.

She also noted that the effects had been felt in the tourism sector. So far, 90 businesses have reported damage of varying amounts, and the minister said they would be compensated.

“So far, 90 businesses have reported being damaged, with losses of varying amounts. Businesses will document the damage, while 10 teams from the tax administration are going out into the field to assess the situation and gather the relevant evidence. Once the amounts have been verified against invoices, the Albanian government will begin the process and cover their losses,” Ibrahimaj said.

The minister added that an act setting out the compensation process was being prepared. “There is no doubt that this situation has affected the Albanian economy. First to be affected were shops and businesses forced to close, mainly small businesses that cannot afford to pay wages for an extended period if their operations are interrupted,” she said.

According to Ibrahimaj, the effects have also spread to businesses linked to everyday consumption and tourism. She noted that tourism has boomed in Tirana and other cities across the country in recent years, while the current situation poses a major setback both for businesses that have closed and for those that remain open but have seen consumption and turnover decline.

During the interview, the minister also discussed the “Youth Guarantee” program, which aims to support employment and vocational training for young people in Albania.

The program has an overall budget of around 60 million euros and is aimed at young people up to the age of 29. Its goal is to create concrete opportunities for them to enter the labor market.

“The Youth Guarantee is a program developed in cooperation with the European Union. It provides for a total budget of nearly 60 million euros and focuses on employment, as well as offering vocational training opportunities to every young person up to the age of 29,” Ibrahimaj said.

She explained that similar models have been successfully implemented in several European countries, including countries that were candidates before joining the European Union. The program was piloted in 2026 and is expected to be rolled out across the republic in 2027.

The minister said the initiative had been prepared earlier in cooperation with European Union experts, and that its full-scale implementation would begin in 2027. The program has also been included in the 2027 budget.

Under the projections, the program aims to help around 10,000 young people find jobs during 2027. Ibrahimaj described the labor market as dynamic, with strong demand for qualified workers, and emphasized that students are among the groups most sought after by employers.

“Can we do more? Absolutely. We need to sit down with students and discuss the programs we have in concrete terms. I am convinced that there is, to some extent, also a lack of information about the initiatives currently being implemented. Through dialogue with students, we will also be able to address the issues they raise,” the minister concluded.