Rama to EU: do not leave the Western Balkans in the lurch – region must sit at Europe’s tables

Prime Minister Edi Rama has called on the European Union not to leave the Western Balkans in the lurch again, stressing that the failure of the region’s integration process would be a major failure for Europe itself.

Speaking at the Interparliamentary Conference on “The strategic agenda for EU enlargement and Albania’s membership,” Rama said Albania is “in love” with the European Union and that support for Europe remains strong in the country.

“Compared to EU countries, we have a great advantage, because Albania still loves the EU, and it is not exactly like that in your countries, where it is more taken for granted, whereas we are entirely very engaged. Beyond the discussions among ourselves at home, we have always agreed on one thing: we love Europe and we want to be inside it. We want you not to leave us in the lurch again, because if the Western Balkans were to be left in the lurch, this would be Europe’s major failure. Regardless of zeal or hesitation, I hope we all find the way to give the world and the EU a very strong signal. I believe it is not that difficult to find such a way,” Rama said.

Rama stressed that the region must be part of the tables where challenges affecting Europe are discussed. He asked that Western Balkan countries not be included only in moments of crisis, but be part of European discussions even when common challenges are addressed.

“We should not remember that we are one Europe only whenever there is an attack and when we are invited to tables, or when a pandemic strikes and we find ourselves around this table. But when a wave of illegal migration comes to Europe, we must also be at the table, because the route passes through here and we must also be at the table,” Rama said.

Rama said Albania has made great progress over the last decade and that citizens’ expectations for the country’s future have grown. According to him, this change constitutes a “revolution of rising expectations,” as citizens believe the country can move further and change.

“When we talk about this moment in Albania, you have been quite entertained lately with the flamingos and the beautiful photos they were sharing from the tops of their parliament. This is the best example of the moment we are going through. We believe Albania has made quite some progress in the last decade and has moved from an era when people always thought things could get worse, now we are in a new era, where people think things can get better.

This is a revolution of rising expectations. People think the country has the capacity to go even higher and can become different. Many things are moving and there is visible development for everyone. Regarding the uncertainties that today’s times give us in our space of democracy, this great confusion between freedom of speech and freedom of access has led to a certain pressure coming from a lot of inaccurate news and many conspiracy theories, which have added to the heavy social burden,” Rama said.