TIRANA, Aug 16 – Representatives of the Albanian government have expressed displeasure at President Nishani for vetoing two key laws on tourism and higher education passed by parliament amid heated debate ahead of the summer recess.
Deputy Prime Minister Niko Peleshi said the two laws sent back to parliament by President Nishani – dealing with tourism and higher education – were too important to delay.
Peleshi said the refusal of a key package of laws harms the interests of a country.
Similar comments were made by Education Minister Lindita Nikolla, who had earlier lobbied with the president, urging him not to veto the education law.
President Nishani argued in a statement that the new tourism law must be amended, arguing the government-sponsored legislation runs counter to the constitution and Albania’s other laws regarding property and local administration.
He also said the higher education law needs to be amended, expressing concern over the fact that it erodes the autonomy of public universities and increases costs for students.
Albanian presidential vetoes are largely symbolic, as the head of state has the constitutional power to veto laws and send them back to parliament for review, however, he can do so only once and the parliament can simply re-approve the laws without any changes.
