Albania: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

The 2025 Article IV Consultation discusses that Albania enjoys one of the highest growth rates in Europe, low inflation, declining public debt, and strong foreign reserves. Building on this foundation, the Albanian government is advancing bold reforms to secure EU membership by 2030. Growth is projected to remain robust at 3.5 percent in 2025 and 3.6 percent in 26, while risks to the outlook have shifted to the downside amid a more unsettled external environment. Timely domestic reforms are essential to safeguarding macroeconomic stability and closing reform gaps with the EU. Key to this will be preserving fiscal buffers through sustained revenue mobilization, maintaining price and financial stability through agile monetary policy and further refinement of prudential tools, and advancing comprehensive reforms in human capital, labor markets, and governance. Comprehensive reforms in labor markets, human capital and governance will be needed to revive productivity, against the backdrop of high emigration, youth unemployment, and informality. While Albania has made significant strides in enacting legal reforms, including in anti-corruption legislation, it continues to face obstacles in ensuring effective preventive measures, institutional transparency, and independent oversight.