Albania has lifted visas with the People’s Republic of China for public officials and ordinary passports. The decision, that will take effect immediately, was taken by the Council of Ministers after an agreement was reached with the Chinese government.

The opposition Democratic Party criticized the decision, saying it goes against every warning and request from the European Union.

“After every EU warning, the government does exactly the opposite of what is required”, said Ilda Zhulali, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy in the Democratic Party.

In a meeting earlier this month, the EU again asked Albania to align its visa policy towards other countries with EU.

"Today, the Albanian government ignored this obligation, continuing to defy the membership obligations, without worrying about the risk of reinstalling the visa regime for Albanian citizens traveling to EU”, Zhulali said in her statement.