Prime Minister Edi Rama, during a speech before students at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, spoke in glowing terms about the European Union and Albania’s aspiration to join the bloc.

Rama described the EU as a blessing for Albania and the region, emphasizing that the Union has two borders, and that the Balkans, in his words, lie within the EU’s inner border.

The Prime Minister stressed that Albania is now firmly on the right path toward EU accession.

“Thank God the EU exists; without it, we might still be waiting hundreds of years to build institutions. This is a blessing for us in Albania and the region. These are not the best of days for Europe and the European Union. More than integration, it is enlargement. Do not forget that the EU is the first reality in history with two borders: one external and one internal. Within this inner border, we in the Balkans are like a fetus in the womb of a pregnant woman. I think that finally, we are on the right track. I am sure Federica is more relieved because she left Brussels with an inner promise never to return, and she came to Bruges to find refuge in the eyes of a new generation,” Rama said.

On the war between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Rama called on the EU to build a strategy to provide security guarantees for Kyiv and to draft a broader vision for stability.

“Europe needs a plan—it must provide security guarantees for Ukraine, project clear paths for the reunification of Europe, keep the door open for the further inclusion of Russia in a broader vision of stability, and position itself as a central force for diplomacy and peacebuilding on the global stage,” Rama declared.

At the end of his speech, Prime Minister Rama invited students to visit Albania, highlighting the significant growth of tourism in the country.