Intelligence service gets wider powers under new law

Parliament approved a new law on Thursday expanding the powers of Albania’s State Intelligence Service, known as SHISH, to collect information inside and outside the country.

The law passed with 72 votes from the ruling Socialists. It allows SHISH to gather intelligence on foreign services, terrorism, extremism, environmental crimes, weapons proliferation, cyberattacks, threats to economic security and risks to critical infrastructure.

It also gives the agency limited access to state databases through interinstitutional agreements.

The vote comes as the government claims Albania is facing hybrid threats linked to planned investments in Zvernec and Sazan. Officials have pointed to hostile states, including Iran and Russia, but have not publicly presented detailed evidence.