29/01/2026 | 18:51:02 Dear Chair, colleagues, First of all, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur for bringing this report, not as symbolic as he mentioned, but because it's timely. It marks 65 years of the European Social Charter, the social pillar of the Council of Europe, and the indispensable counterpart of the European Convention on Human Rights. As this Assembly has long underlined, social rights are not secondary; they are essential for a resilient democracy, social cohesion and citizens' trust. At... 28/01/2026 | 11:38:36 Thank you, Dear Chair, dear colleagues, I thank the rapporteurs for their report and for raising this vital issue. In Albania, students and young people made history. In the 1990s, they stood up and brought down a communist dictatorship. History teaches us what the power of youth is. When youth rises, regimes fall. When youth leaves, democracy erodes. Today, Albania is facing a youth exodus. According to Eurostat, in only the last decade 1.1 million Albanians left to EU countries. 78% of... 03/10/2025 | 12:07:50 Thank you, Honourable President, I would like to speak about the international reports on Albania. Just days ago, the United States State Department published its 2025 report on Albania’s business climate. Its findings are alarming: Albania remains plagued by systemic corruption and a massive influx of illicit funds, especially from drug trafficking, which distort competition and block foreign investment. Corruption in procurement, the abusive use of PPP contracts, insecure property rights... 03/10/2025 | 10:10:38 Good morning, Mister Chair. Artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed our world. The way we live, how we learn, work, do business and how we educate our children, as well. It is a remarkable achievement. Yet its full impact on the labour market, on the gender pay gap and on equality still needs careful studying and evidence. Of course, I support the use of AI, but we must be prudent where rights are at stake. In my own country, a so-called AI minister was introduced, raising... 02/10/2025 | 16:43:06 Thank you. Dear President, First, I want to congratulate the two rapporteurs for their excellent work. When I last spoke in this Assembly, I warned that diplomacy doesn't work with authoritarian leaders. That if we treat regimes like Georgian Dream as if they respect our values, they will only push further. Sadly, that warning has come true. The situation in Georgia is worse than when we spoke last time, here, in this Assembly. Since April, the repression has escalated - jailing opposition... 27/06/2025 | 10:30:16 Dear President, Dear colleagues, What may seem like a domestic Albanian issue is, in fact, a European and transatlantic security threat. Recent investigations by Radio France and German Die Zeit reveal what many Albanians already witness daily: Albania has become a central hub for laundering drug money, serving international trafficking networks whose operations extend into many EU countries. One of the biggest media in the US, Fox News, two days ago called the Albanian PM "Ramaduro". There... 26/06/2025 | 18:21:17 Thank you, dear President, dear colleagues, my dear friend, Emanuelis. From my experience, dictators and authoritarians organise perfect elections. Everything happens before people go to the boxes. The most violated elections, those that are not free and fair, are organised by dictators. This is my personal impression. Grave and alarming news continues to reach us from Georgia. Only in the past week, four democratic opposition leaders were thrown behind bars. Not for committing crimes, but... 26/06/2025 | 15:26:26 Thank you dear President, Dear colleagues, We are here today to discuss a report that presents both progress and the backslide in the state of women’s rights across Europe. Statistically, the numbers look encouraging: increased female participation in public and economic life, more women in parliament, more women in leadership roles, more women involved in decision-making processes, but despite this numerical rise, the reality is different. Higher numbers have not translated into better... 26/06/2025 | 10:23:35 Dear Chair, dear colleagues, I rise today with both conviction and deep personal understanding of this crisis. The report before us is a powerful reminder. Many routes migrants used to arrive in Europe, the Mediterranean and other sea routes, have become deadly paths. Since 2014, thousands of migrants have died at sea. The Adriana shipwreck in June 2023, where 600 people perished, was not an exception. It was the result of systemic failure. Large-scale search and rescue missions were... 23/06/2025 | 16:56:33 Dear colleagues, Thank you for the Council of Europe's presence during the 11 May elections in Albania, which offered a valuable view into the reality on the ground. The report acknowledges serious concerns, but the truth is much more alarming. When the vote is not free, democracy does not exist. There must be no double standards for EU members and for candidate countries like Albania. So I ask you, can elections be democratic when most of the Copenhagen criteria were systematically...