Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday launched a fresh attack on the judiciary, accusing judges of corruption and incompetence for rulings that he says allow private businesses to occupy public land in the capital.
Speaking at a public consultation in Tirana’s Unit 2 on the 2026 draft budget, Rama said the government was facing growing pressure to provide nurseries, kindergartens and schools as the city’s population increases, but progress was being obstructed by court decisions favouring business interests.
“The population of Tirana is growing faster than our capacities,” Rama said. “The main issue is public space. These areas exist, but many have been taken over by private businesses. After decades of effort, we are finally managing to reassert that public space cannot be seized, fenced or used for private activities.”
Rama accused judges of enabling companies to continue operating on land the government says is public and cannot legally be developed.
“These inherited problems remain unsolved because of the ignorance or corruption of judges,” he said. “You have to be either ignorant or corrupt to deny communities their right to public space.”
Rama said more than 100,000 square metres of occupied public land in Tirana had been cleared so far and claimed that recent court behaviour suggested “greater restraint” among judges.
He added that the government would expropriate private land if necessary to build schools or childcare facilities. “No illegally occupied square metre will remain,” Rama said.
The comments mark the latest confrontation between the prime minister and Albania’s judicial system, which has been undergoing a years-long EU-backed vetting process aimed at removing corrupt judges and prosecutors.