SP Moves for a Special Parliamentary Commission for the Second Phase of the Administrative-Territorial Reform

Socialist Party MPs have requested the formation of a Special Parliamentary Commission that will deal with extending the Administrative-Territorial Reform into its second phase. This comes after the Parliament approved the reduction of the number of municipalities from 61 to 46.

The aim of this initiative is to continue the reform process following the adoption of the new territorial division, as well as to prepare the necessary legal changes for the functioning of the new municipalities.

The second phase will focus on three main areas: local functions and services, local government finances, and the establishment of a functional regional level. For these directions, a review and modification of existing legislation is foreseen, among others, the laws on local self-government, local finances, and regional development.

The signed document emphasizes that the legal changes must be completed before the new municipalities begin to function after the 2027 local elections.

The Commission will examine the possibilities for deepening administrative and fiscal decentralization, will reconsider the formula for unconditional transfers, and will ensure the alignment of legislation with European Union standards and the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

Another function of the commission will be to monitor the implementation of the new administrative-territorial division, as well as the transitional measures for organizing the new municipalities. For representation matters, coordination is foreseen with the Special Parliamentary Commission on Electoral Reform.

According to the socialist group’s request, the commission will have 16 members, distributed according to the proportion of parliamentary groups. The chairmanship will be held by a representative of the majority, while the deputy chair will come from the ranks of the opposition. The envisaged mandate is nine months, starting from the day the decision is approved, with the possibility of extension by the Parliament.

“With Decision No. 75/2025, the Parliament established the Special Parliamentary Commission for the Administrative-Territorial Reform, with a nine-month mandate. The Commission completed its work with the Final Report, presented to the Parliament on 15.07.2026, which set the evaluation methodology with five criteria and drafted the findings and scenarios for territorial reorganization. Based on the Report and a broad consultation process with municipalities, municipal councils, and citizens, the Parliament approved in October 2026 Law No. 100/2026 on the new administrative-territorial division, which organizes the country into 46 municipalities, with constituent cities and administrative units.

The new map is the first pillar of the reform. The other three pillars-functions and services, local finances, and the regional level-require separate laws that must be drafted within the next year by the Parliament, the Government, and the municipalities. Supplementing Law No. 139/2015 “On Local Self-Government” with the status of the city, the deputy mayor of the city, representation, and the internal organization of the municipality-city-administrative unit; minimum service standards and the funding source for each function; the new formula for unconditional transfers based on the 2023 Census data and amendments to Law No. 68/2017 “On Local Government Finances”; and a functional regional level, based on the existing local government structure, in accordance with Law No. 102/2020 “On Regional Development and Cohesion.”

The logic of the reform is clear: competencies cannot be added to municipalities that today cannot even carry out the ones they have; stronger municipalities today mean more competencies and more funding tomorrow.
These laws must be ready in time for the start of the functioning of the new municipalities after the 2027 local elections. The second phase must follow the method that proved itself in the first phase: data-driven work, broad consultation, and the aim of consensus among parliamentary forces, under the leadership of the Parliament and in cooperation with the Council of Ministers, local self-government units and their associations, civil society, and international partners.

For these reasons, pursuant to Articles 77 and 78 of the Constitution and Articles 24 and 55 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, we, the Members of Parliament,
request:

1. The establishment of the Special Parliamentary Commission for the Second Phase of the Administrative-Territorial Reform in the Republic of Albania, with the subject of the administrative reform of local government: functions and services, local finances, and the regional level.

2. The Special Commission shall have as the subject of its activity:
a) the examination of the legal and institutional framework of local self-government, following the new administrative-territorial division;
b) the analysis of local public functions, competencies, and services and proposals for deepening decentralization;
c) the analysis of the local finance system and proposals for strengthening fiscal decentralization and the financial sustainability of local self-government units;
c) the analysis and proposals for the regional level and regional development, in the function of the cohesion policy and European Union funds;
d) ensuring the compatibility of the proposals with the acquis of the European Union and the European Charter of Local Self-Government;
d) the development of a comprehensive, inclusive, and transparent consultation process with local self-government units, their associations, civil society, and international partners;
e) the presentation to the Parliament of draft laws and accompanying reports, within the period of the Commission’s activity.

3. In fulfilling its subject, the Special Commission shall examine and propose the necessary amendments to Law No. 139/2015 “On Local Self-Government”, Law No. 68/2017 “On Local Government Finances”, Law No. 102/2020 “On Regional Development and Cohesion”, as well as to any other legal act related to the subject of its activity.

4. The Special Commission shall monitor the implementation of Law No. 100/2026 and the transitional measures for establishing the new municipalities until the 2027 local elections, in cooperation with the Council of Ministers, and shall coordinate its work with the Special Parliamentary Commission on Electoral Reform on representation matters.

5. The Special Commission shall consist of 16 members, according to the representation of parliamentary groups, with a chair representing the parliamentary majority and a deputy chair representing the parliamentary opposition, and shall conduct its activity within a 9-month period from the date of approval of the decision, with the possibility of extension by the Parliament upon a substantiated request of its chair.

6. Within the Special Commission, a group of domestic and international experts shall be established, whose number, composition, organization, and tasks shall be determined by a decision of the Commission, and a Technical Secretariat shall function, composed of the Parliament’s administration and contracted experts.

7. The Special Commission shall hold consultations with the ministers responsible for the areas of the second phase, with the institutions and agencies under the Council of Ministers, with institutions under the Parliament, and with independent institutions, as well as with mayors, the associations of local self-government units, and the Consultative Council of central government with local self-government; it shall organize hearing sessions, roundtables, and public discussions; and it shall invite the Delegation of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the OSCE Presence, and other international organizations for assistance and technical expertise.

All state bodies, public bodies, and independent institutions have the obligation to cooperate with the Special Commission and to make available to it, without delay, any documentation or information required by the Commission for the performance of its duties and functions.

The Parliament must take measures to create working conditions and provide financial, logistical, and human resources support for the activity of the Special Commission, the group of experts, and the Technical Secretariat”, the full request states.