AI regulation in Albania: laws & policy (2026)
AI in Albania: guidelines only.
Albania has no dedicated, binding AI law. Its AI governance rests on a 2024 Council of Ministers decision setting non-enforceable methodology and technical standards for public-sector AI use, a non-binding Digital Agenda 2022-2026, and a draft national AI strategy. As an EU candidate country since 2014, Albania is expected to progressively align with the EU AI Act through the accession process, but formal transposition is not anticipated before 2027.
Legal framework
Council of Ministers Decision No. 479/2024 (Methodology and Technical Standards for AI Use); Digital Agenda 2022-2026; Draft National AI Strategy, all non-binding and limited to the public sector. Law No. 124/2024 on Personal Data Protection (GDPR-aligned) is the primary binding instrument with indirect AI relevance.
Key points: artificial intelligence in Albania
No standalone AI law
Albania has no legislation dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence. AI is governed indirectly through horizontal digital, data-protection, cybersecurity, and consumer-rights statutes. Formal AI-specific drafting is projected after 2026 in line with EU accession timelines.
Council of Ministers Decision No. 479/2024
Adopted 24 July 2024, this decision approved a Methodology and Technical Standards for the Use of AI in Albania, covering ethical principles such as human oversight, transparency, and accountability. The instrument applies only to the public sector and carries no enforcement mechanism.
Digital Agenda 2022-2026 and draft AI strategy
The Digital Agenda of Albania 2022-2026 (Council of Ministers Decision No. 370) sets strategic objectives for AI adoption in public services and data-driven governance. A draft National AI Strategy also exists but has not been adopted as binding legislation.
GDPR-aligned data protection law (binding)
Law No. 124/2024 on the Protection of Personal Data, in force from 31 January 2025, replaces Law 9887/2008 and is fully harmonised with the EU GDPR and Directive 2016/680. It is the primary binding instrument with direct bearing on AI systems that process personal data.
EU accession alignment pathway
As an EU candidate since 2014, Albania is obliged to progressively align its legal order with the EU acquis, including the EU AI Act. The European Commission's December 2025 country fiche documents Albania's accession progress; 28 of 33 negotiation chapters have been opened. Full EU AI Act transposition is a future accession obligation, not yet in effect.
AI deployment outpacing oversight (Diella case)
In September 2025, Albania appointed 'Diella', an AI system developed by AKSHI with Microsoft/OpenAI, as Minister of State for Public Procurement, the first such cabinet-level AI role globally. Critics and the SCiDEV February 2026 working paper note that the pace of AI deployment in government has outrun the legal and institutional frameworks needed to ensure rights-respecting, EU-compatible oversight.
Timeline of decisions
- GuidanceSCiDEV Working Paper Maps Albania's Path to EU AI Act Alignment
The Science and Development Center published a detailed working paper identifying critical gaps between Albania's AI governance instruments and EU AI Act requirements, concluding that existing measures are largely non-binding, apply only to the public sector, and lack enforcement mechanisms. It recommended Albania adopt either a comprehensive AI law or targeted amendments before 2027 accession talks close.
SCiDEV Center
- DecisionAI Avatar 'Diella' Delivers First Address to Albanian Parliament
PM Edi Rama presented a video of Diella addressing parliament, where she stated 'I'm not here to replace people, but to help them'; 82 Socialist MPs voted in favour while opposition boycotted, marking the first time an AI system formally addressed a national legislature and triggering international debate on accountability and legal basis.
Digital Watch Observatory
- Decision · officialAlbania Appoints 'Diella' as World's First AI Minister of State
Following a presidential decree, PM Rama's fourth government formally named Diella, an AI avatar built by AKSHI with Microsoft/Azure OpenAI, as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, the first cabinet-level AI appointment globally; civil society immediately raised concerns over the absence of legal basis, risk assessment, and human accountability.
EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
- Guidance · officialNational AI Strategy 2025-2030 Announced
Albania unveiled its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030, targeting AI deployment across energy, public procurement, and tax-evasion enforcement, with plans for a National AI Factory, an AI Government Campus, and expanded e-Albania 2.0 services; the strategy positions AI as the primary driver of economic growth and public-service excellence by 2030.
Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA)
- DecisionAKSHI Launches Diella AI Virtual Assistant on eAlbania Platform
AKSHI's AI Laboratory, in cooperation with Microsoft, deployed Diella as a citizen-facing virtual assistant on the eAlbania public-services platform; the deployment had no formal legal basis or prior rights-impact assessment, a gap later criticised by civil society when the system was elevated to ministerial status.
Wikipedia / AKSHI
- DecisionCouncil of Ministers Adopts AI Technical Standards, Decision No. 479/2024
Albania's Council of Ministers approved its first standalone AI governance instrument: a Methodology and Technical Standards for the Use of Artificial Intelligence, setting ethical principles of human oversight, transparency, and accountability for public-sector AI; the document remains non-binding on private actors and lacks formal enforcement mechanisms.
CMS Expert Guide
- DecisionAKSHI Launches €2.6M AI Tender to Accelerate EU Acquis Transposition
AKSHI opened a €2.6 million procurement for an AI platform, leveraging ChatGPT following PM Rama's partnership with OpenAI leadership, to analyse over 280,000 pages of EU legislation, identify gaps in Albanian law, and draft alignment measures; Albania's first major government AI procurement project, framed as a tool to speed EU accession talks.
Euronews Albania
Sources
- cms.law/en/int/expert-guides/ai-regulation-scanner/albania
- scidevcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AIACT_Paper_Final.pdf
- scidevcenter.org/2026/02/18/scidev-publishes-working-paper-on-albanias-path-towards-al
- enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/de2675ef-51c8-44e7-bf62-3c781ef938e6_en?filename=Al
- dig.watch/resource/digital-agenda-of-albania-2022-2026
- rlr.iup.rs/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/02.pdf
- verfassungsblog.de/albania-ai-eu/
- iss.europa.eu/publications/commentary/artificial-intelligence-real-politics-what-al
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026