The political clash over the €302 million loan for military equipment has now moved to the constitutional level. The Democratic Party has filed with the Constitutional Court the law ratifying the agreement with the United States, targeting not its content but the way the majority passed it in parliament.
The opposition contests the procedure, not the agreement in principle
The head of the PD parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, said the opposition is not against the agreement itself, nor against strategic cooperation with the United States in the field of defense.
According to him, the challenge concerns the parliamentary procedure followed by the majority to approve the ratifying law, which he describes as contrary to the Constitution and to standards previously set by the Constitutional Court itself.
PD claim: deputies were not given the proper time and information
According to the version presented by the PD, deputies were not given the necessary time and real opportunity to familiarize themselves with the content of the agreement and to exercise their parliamentary functions.
Bardhi said seven constitutional violations had been identified. Among them, he mentioned the lack of access to full documentation, failure to respect parliamentary deadlines, the use of an accelerated procedure, and a lack of transparency due to the classification of the agreement.
Request to the Constitutional Court: repeal the law and suspend it
The PD is asking the Constitutional Court to repeal the ratifying law and, until the case is reviewed, to suspend its implementation.
According to the opposition, the agreement should not have been passed under an accelerated procedure, since the government had time to follow the ordinary parliamentary route. At its core, the dispute raised by the PD aims to test not only this law, but also the way the majority uses parliamentary procedures for acts with financial and institutional weight.
What the agreement provides
The agreement with the United States provides for a €302 million loan to modernize Albania’s military capabilities and equip the Armed Forces.
The PD has said it supports strengthening defense and strategic relations with the United States, but insists that an agreement of this weight cannot be passed by bypassing constitutional standards and parliamentary transparency.
Now the matter passes to the Constitutional Court, which will have to examine whether the opposition’s claims affect the essence of the legislative process or remain part of the usual political conflict between the majority and the opposition.
Beyond the latest clash in parliament, the issue once again opens debate over real parliamentary oversight of agreements with high public costs and documentation that is limited for deputies.