Knowledge & Analysis

2025 Assessment – Report for Albania

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The 2025 assessment finds civil society in Albania operating under tightening practical constraints within a largely sound legal framework. The year brought a long-awaited VAT exemption for donor-funded projects and a new Law on Volunteering, while cooperation between the government and civil society weakened, with no valid cooperation strategy in place since the previous Road Map expired at the end of 2023.

Key findings

Protection from threats and attacks deteriorated, and the compliance score was downgraded from 4 to 3. Strategic lawsuits against public participation continued, and a coordinated disinformation campaign targeted LGBTIQ+ and gender equality organisations around the adoption of the Gender Equality Law in November 2025.

A 0% VAT rate for goods and services used in EU IPA III and other donor-funded projects entered into force, a long-awaited step for the sector’s financial sustainability. Only 23% of CSOs rated public funding as transparent and fair.

Restrictions linked to funding sources rose to 9% of CSOs, from 1% in 2024, and banking-related restrictions to 11%, from 6%.

The new Law on Volunteering recognises volunteering as work experience, but Albania still has no national volunteering strategy, a gap recorded in all four assessment cycles.

Only 4% of CSOs took part in a consultation that gave them access to the draft from the start and at least 15 days to comment. The National Council for Civil Society met once in 2025, down from three times in 2024.

Two thirds of CSOs (66%) reported a diversified donor base, up from 48% in 2024. Staffing rose, but Tirana-based organisations had a median of five paid staff against 2.5 outside the capital, and only 7% of CSOs had comprehensive human resources policies.