Prime Minister Edi Rama gave an interview for the podcast “East Side Stories,” where he spoke about Albania’s path toward the EU, emphasizing that membership will happen according to the objective—by 2030. During the podcast, Rama also highlighted the importance of the Western Balkans for Europe.
“It is very, very unique in history to have this geopolitical reality of the European Union: two borders—an external border and an internal border. And in this case, the internal border is the Western Balkans. So, for reasons connected to Europe’s security, the European coalition, and Europe’s unity, it is clear—at least to me—that there is no other way but to integrate the Western Balkan countries into the European Union,” he said.
Rama added that the situation within the Union has changed and emphasized that at this stage he sees no risk for Albania. According to him, Albania is not doing its “homework” to please the EU, but to become a more European and democratic country.
“We are not doing this ‘homework’ to please them. We are doing this homework to change Albania and make it more European, more democratic, more based on its institutions and not on its personalities, etc. The European Union is the only source of this kind of know-how. You cannot find it anywhere else. I take the example of Afghanistan or Iraq.
They failed largely because they do not have the perspective of the European Union, and because no one else can teach a country how to build institutions. Americans don’t have the patience for this. Their philosophy is to fix things with bombs and then preach. But the long process is something that only the European Union knows how to do. And it is something that only the EU has—I cannot call it a national treasure, because it is not just one nation—it is the treasure of this continent,” Rama said.
Rama also spoke about the justice system, saying that everything must be done to avoid interfering with the independence that has been granted to it.
“I have said that we need to build justice mechanisms that are able to prove their independence—by investigating and punishing regardless of where a case comes from. It is not as pleasant as going to the opera. It is painful. It is bitter. But it is the only way. Is it perfect? No. Do they make mistakes? Of course they do. But at the end of the day, we must do everything not to touch the independence we have given them,” he said.
Rama noted that Albania is a small country and does not have the luxury of choosing when it comes to international relations. “When it comes to us, I think we are too small to choose. We must talk to everyone and be able to understand as many of them as possible. When it comes to Russia, we have a very specific relationship because of a very specific history.
We broke with Russia in 1960 because we wanted to preserve Stalin, and they wanted to move away from Stalin. And that happened. We preserved Stalin, not the Soviet Union, for the next 30 years. And this created a deep dissatisfaction in our people’s psychology toward Russians and Russia. Therefore, after 35 years of democratic life, we have never visited Russia, nor have we ever been visited by Russia. And honestly, we don’t miss it,” he said.
According to him, the EU must speak directly with Russia and should not delegate its foreign policy to Washington, because Moscow is Europe’s neighbor—not America’s.
“When it comes to the European Union, I think the EU must talk to Russia. And it should not continue delegating its foreign policy to Washington, because at the end of the day, Russia is the EU’s neighbor, not the neighbor of the United States. And with your neighbors, you must talk,” Rama said.
