Albania approves $302m US loan for military upgrade as opposition boycotts vote

Albania’s parliament approved a $302 million loan from the United States on Monday to upgrade the country’s military, as opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote and accused the government of rushing the agreement through without transparency.

The deal passed with 74 votes in favour in the 140-seat parliament.

Taulant Balla, leader of the ruling Socialist Party’s parliamentary group, said the loan would fund defence investments as part of Albania’s commitments to NATO.

Albania will have four years to select projects and 12 years to repay the loan, with the possibility of a one-year deferral, Balla said.

The final release of the money will require US approval after the projects have been selected.

Balla said the funds would be used exclusively to modernise Albania’s military, including purchasing equipment that meets NATO standards. He did not provide further details about the planned projects.

Democratic Party MP Belind Kellici told AFP that his party supported the agreement but objected to what he described as a constitutional violation.

He said lawmakers had received the Socialist Party’s proposal only on the morning of the vote.

The decision came weeks after Albania announced that it would raise its 2026 defence budget to 69.2 billion lek, or $840 million.

That would be almost three times the country’s military spending six years earlier.

Albania has publicly committed to NATO’s target for member countries to spend five percent of gross domestic product on defence and security by 2035.