TIRANA, June 24 – The Albanian government has prepared a draft law which will allow ethnic minorities in Albania that make up 20 percent or more of their municipalities of residence to use their own language in government offices.
Internal Affairs Minister Sander Lleshaj announced the proposal on Tuesday, which states that at least 1 percent of the ethnic minority population is needed to file a request with the municipality. The Municipal Council is then required to review the request within 60 days from date of submission.
Through the draft law, ethnic minorities in Albania will be able to have access to the transparency program, find more employment opportunities in local government offices, consult with Municipalities before decisions are made as well as take part in citizen initiatives.
Furthermore, respective Municipalities can also put up road signs in the language of the ethnic minority in addition to administrative units, streets and territories.
Albania currently recognizes several minorities, including Greek, Montenegrin, North Macedonian, Vlach-Aromanian, and most recently the Bulgarian minority. The proposal comes within the framework of the 25 conditions set by the EU, which Albania must meet before the first intergovernmental conference.
