The Albanian state owes former owners compensation of 18 million euros for the lawsuits won in Strasbourg. The obligation is created until September 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Economy made public with the 2026 draft budget, for 12 cases won at the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
As of September 2025, out of the total number of decisions, only one of them, the case "Meli and Slinkels Family Brewers NV v. Albania" is currently in the liquidation process with a compensation value of 17,200 euros.
As of 2023, the list of compensation cases continues to be headed by the case "Charge against Albania" with a financial obligation of 13.3 million euros, followed by the case "Rista and Others against Albania" with an obligation of 4.4 million euros.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy underlines in the draft budget report that it has continuously respected all decisions adopted by the ECHR, considering the fact that when payments are not made within three months from the date when the relevant decision becomes final, the Albanian state is charged with paying late payment interest for each day of delay.
However, to guarantee the timely settlement of these decisions, the MFE emphasizes in the report that it has consistently recommended the use of all possible institutional and procedural channels, within the scope provided by the legal framework in force, suggesting, according to the possibilities of the state budget, the scheduling of the financial obligation in installments, in negotiation with the beneficiaries.
Even for 2025, the liquidation of obligations of this type is covered by the Reserve Fund of the state budget.
