About us

The Presence in Albania provides assistance and expertise, in close consultation and co-operation with the Albanian government and other state institutions and organizations, to the country’s authorities and civil society representatives.

The Presence’s mandate is to assist Albania in developing effective democratic institutions and to promote the rule of law and human rights in the country. It does this through a variety of legal and administrative reform initiatives; activities aimed at fighting corruption and trafficking; and programmes to develop the country’s media, support civil society, and train police and customs officials.

The Presence's offices, staff and budget at a glance

Offices

1 Headquarters office

The Presence has its headquarters in the capital Tirana.

Staff

88 Fixed-term staff

The Presence has 15 international and 73 local fixed-term staff (as of 31 December 2024). These figures include staff financed from extrabudgetary contributions.

Budget

€2,981,200

In 2024, the Presence operated on the basis of a Provisional Expenditure Authorization based on its 2021 Unified Budget, which amounted to €2,891,200. The extrabudgetary actual expenditure for 2024 was €1,755,682.

Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania

Ambassador Michel Tarran

Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania

History and mandate

Established in 1997 by the OSCE Permanent Council

The Presence was established in 1997 following the collapse of fraudulent business pyramid schemes to help stabilize the country and co-ordinate international assistance.

Today, the work of the Presence focuses on four key areas: supporting law enforcement and the fight against crime; countering corruption, trafficking and environmental degradation; promoting the rule of law, justice reform and human rights; and advancing democracy, with an emphasis on electoral reform, support to parliament and to a free and facts-based media.

All these activities are implemented while promoting gender equality and strengthening the involvement of youth and civil society.

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The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for
Albania, former Austrian Chancellor, Dr. Franz Vranitzky, speaks
with journalists about the issues that are of concern for the OSCE in
Albania, April 1997.

© OSCE Photo details
A Voting Centre Commission official (right) discusses election procedures with observers from the OSCE Presence in Albania before the rerun of voting in Dhërmi, southern Albania, 16 November 2003.

© OSCE Photo details
Albanian police learn how to use border surveillance equipment in a training workshop organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, Lezha, April 2006.

© OSCE/Jack Bell Photo details
People reading information about their rights posted on the wall of the Lushnja municipality building, September 2006. The Know Your Rights project was initiated by the OSCE Presence in Albania and the People's Advocate.

© OSCE/Fejzon Numani Photo details
A Civil Status Office employee in Tirana issues a printed civil status certificate, 14 August 2008. Albania now has a computerized civil registration database thanks to a project implemented by the Interior Ministry with the support of the OSCE Presence.

© OSCE/Fabiola Haxhillari Photo details
An Albanian army expert puts labels on one of 459 barrels containing 110 tonnes of the hazardous chemical dichloroethane prior to being shipped to Belgium and incinerated as part of an OSCE project. Photo taken in Brar, Albania, 28 July 2010.

© OSCE/Klaas Los Photo details
Albanian journalists work in the new media room in the Parliament, created as part of an OSCE Presence in Albania project, Tirana, 23 May 2012.

© OSCE/Joana Karapataqi Photo details
Street children play at a summer camp organized by an organization supported by the OSCE Presence in Albania, Tirana, 7 July 2014.

© OSCE/Joana Karapataqi Photo details
Children, parents, teachers, school psychologists and social workers participate in one of a series of information sessions on cyber security organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania, Lezha, 2 November 2022.

© OSCE Photo details
Police and social workers successfully carry out a simulated rescue operation for a child victim of trafficking during the simulation-based training exercise held in Tirana, Albania, from 19 to 21 November 2024.

© OSCE Photo details
Senior staff of Albanian prisons participate in a three-day training event on the Nelson Mandela Rules, Tirana, 19 November 2024.

© OSCE Photo details
Representatives of OSCE participating States and international organizations in Albania, part of OSCE Presence-initiated International Election Working Group meet with civil society organizations to hear their views and concerns regarding elections, Tirana, 1 November 2024.

© OSCE/Joana Karapataqi Photo details
Fostering intermunicipal co-operation on domestic and gender-based violence between the municipalities of Kukës and Dragash/Dragaš, Kukës, 16 July 2025.

© OSCE Mission in Kosovo/Sehida Miftari Photo details