Business
Rama: State to cover 70% to 100% of damage for small businesses hit during protests
The anti-violence package the prime minister presented on Sunday provides immediate compensation for businesses with annual turnover of up to 140,000 euros, while shifting the financial burden onto those who caused the damage.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 25, 2026, 23:15 · Updated 18:40 · 2 min read
In brief
- The smallest businesses damaged by breakage, looting or fire will receive 100% of the damage, larger ones at least 70%.
- The scheme applies to businesses with annual turnover of up to 140,000 euros that have filed a claim with the tax directorate.
- The “Whoever breaks it, pays” law provides that convicted offenders pay for the damage, and parents pay for minors.
Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday presented a six-instrument package against violence at rallies, with business compensation as its main economic element. The package came after the 13th protest in Tirana, where, according to Top Channel, protesters broke the metal shutters of several businesses and forced open a bank on the boulevard.
Who qualifies and how much
The first instrument is a normative act that, according to the text presented, provides immediate financial support to businesses damaged by breakage, looting or fire. The state will cover material damage on a sliding scale: 100% for the smallest businesses and no less than 70% for larger ones, according to criteria still to be set.
The scheme is limited to businesses with annual turnover of up to 140,000 euros. Those that have already filed a damage claim with the General Directorate of Taxation will, according to the government, avoid years of court proceedings. The total size of the fund was not made public.
“Whoever breaks it, pays”
The rest of the package aims to shift the cost from taxpayers to those responsible. Under the act, convicted offenders will pay their share of the damage, while for minors their parents or guardians will pay. Anyone who stays at a violent rally after a police warning faces an administrative fine of up to 500,000 lek, while taking part in an unauthorized rally carries a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 lek per person.
“Peaceful protest is protected, violence is punished and the damage is paid by whoever caused it,” Rama said in the morning presentation. Journalists, doctors, observers, officials on duty and passersby are exempt from the fines, according to the package.
