“We support it, but we will not take part in today’s session”/ €302 million loan agreement with the US, Bardhi: We want to see the full text of the document

In a statement, Democratic Party Parliamentary Group leader Gazment Bardhi said that the opposition supports in principle the €302 million loan agreement with the US to finance the purchase of military equipment, but objects to the way the majority intends to approve it in Parliament.

Bardhi stressed that MPs have received neither the full text of the agreement nor the explanatory report accompanying the draft law and that, for this reason, the opposition will not take part in the plenary session.

He said that the plenary session scheduled for today was convened in violation of the Constitution, which clearly stipulates that Parliament may not vote on a law less than one week after its consideration has begun.

Statement by Gazment Bardhi:

Yes to the agreement with the US! No to the unconstitutional way Edi Rama is seeking to push it through Parliament within a single day! This is the position of the opposition in the Albanian Parliament on the €302 million loan agreement that Albania is entering into with the US to finance the purchase of military equipment.

The plenary session scheduled for today at 15:00 was convened in violation of the Constitution, which clearly stipulates that Parliament may not vote on a law less than one week after its consideration has begun. This particular case is even more flagrant, as MPs have still not received the text of the agreement they are being asked to vote on, or even the explanatory report accompanying the draft law submitted by the government.

The practice established by the Speaker of Parliament, under which MPs are expected to familiarize themselves with the text of the agreement by reading it together as a group on Parliament’s premises, is humiliating and runs counter to the constitutional status of an MP. Parliament is obliged to make all parliamentary documentation available to MPs. If it has been requested that the agreement not be made public, MPs can provide a written undertaking to maintain its confidentiality.

Nevertheless, the parliamentary majority refuses to follow this practice, asking Parliament to vote on an agreement whose content is unknown to MPs and without giving them the opportunity to review it. For these reasons, we declare that we will not take part in a plenary session convened in violation of the Constitution. We wish to make clear to the public that this unconstitutional action by the parliamentary majority is humiliating to the institution of Parliament, its MPs, and the importance of the agreement with the United States of America.

Recognizing the importance of this agreement, the DP Parliamentary Group, in consultation with the other opposition parliamentary groups, communicated its position in writing to the Speaker of Parliament over the weekend and agreed on the following: The opposition supports the agreement with the US in principle. The opposition requests access to the full text of the agreement, in keeping with every MP’s constitutional right to cast an informed vote. The opposition has assured the Speaker of Parliament that it will vote in favor as soon as it has reviewed the agreement’s contents.

The opposition demands compliance with the constitutional procedure for ratifying the agreement. Parliament cannot ignore the Constitution and undermine an agreement with our strategic partner—the US—by following improper procedures. Ratification must be carried out in full compliance with the Constitution and Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. For this reason, we have proposed that the agreement be approved, in accordance with the constitutional deadlines, at the plenary session on Friday, July 31, 2026. We have also assured the Speaker of Parliament that we will attend that session and vote in favor.

These legitimate demands from the opposition, although deemed reasonable by the Speaker of Parliament, were rejected by the parliamentary majority, which is carrying out Edi Rama’s political order to humiliate the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, infringe upon MPs’ constitutional rights, and call into question the constitutionality of the ratification of an agreement with our strategic partner—the United States of America.