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Rama to "The Observer": Albania ready to help the EU survive, just give us a seat at the table

2025-12-18 21:31:00Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Rama to "The Observer": Albania ready to help the EU survive, just
Edi Rama

Prime Minister Edi Rama has declared that Albania is ready to make its contribution to strengthening the European Union, stressing that the country’s membership is a strategic necessity. In an interview with The Observer , published this Thursday, Rama says that Albania has been forced to “swallow a lot of frogs” during the integration process, but that the objective remains clear: joining the EU by 2030.

Rama criticized the EU's bureaucracy, saying that Europe is out of balance, criticized it for bureaucracy and added that the continent needs "more Europe, not less Europe" and a clear strategy for the future.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Albania is willing to give up its right of veto and even not have its own commissioner, as a guarantee for its European partners.

FULL INTERVIEW

In his art-filled office, sitting in a dark leather armchair, Rama talks about the “darkness” that has descended on Europe. Re-elected for a fourth term in May and with Albania receiving praise for its progress in membership negotiations, he is not having a bad year. However, he is troubled by the “lack of positive energy everywhere” and the sense that the continent, despite the “great people” leading it, is sinking deeper into darkness.

“I don’t see any light,” he says. “There’s a gloom in Europe and I don’t see a way out. There are people trying to do the right thing, but I don’t see a strategy. It doesn’t help to think that the problem is somewhere else. The problem is in Europe. It’s with us.”

Rama, a former painter, has brought sweeping reforms to a country once isolated by communism. In Brussels, the 61-year-old socialist is seen as one of the most pragmatic leaders to emerge from the former East. In Tirana, EU ambassadors praise Rama’s ability to “think outside the box,” even as endemic corruption continues to plague the country and, more recently, the highest levels of his own government. That appreciation explains why Rama’s views are taken seriously.

"Europe itself is out of balance: its bureaucracy weighs more than politics and internal strife seems bigger than the common horizon," says Rama.

The debate over migration has been particularly challenging for an Anglophile politician, forced once again to denounce the “ethnic stereotyping” of Albanians expressed by a British Home Secretary.

In an interview with The Observer, he does not hide how "disturbing" it is that this time the accusations of abuse of asylum laws by Albanians come not from a Conservative minister, but from a Labour government led by a man with whom he says he has a "very good" relationship.

“If you single out a community, you can expect members of that community to be hurt, attacked, injured, beaten,” he says, his fingers moving over a string of beads. “We know from history that this happens.”

France's Socialist Party, he adds, has committed "spectacular suicide" by trying to imitate the far-right's rhetoric on immigration. This, he says, is a cautionary lesson for leaders to stay true to their beliefs and values.

“When you enter a race with the far right, you lose, because when it comes to choosing who is tougher on issues like migration, the instinct is to choose the original, not the copy,” he says. “You think you can dance with the devil? The devil wins the moment he steps on the dance floor.”

The rise of far-right populism, patriotic nationalism, division and the acceleration of Europe's militarization are, according to Rama, powerful forces that deepen this darkness.

But Rama has never been of the opinion that US President Donald Trump is Europe's problem or that the new American national security strategy is particularly surprising.

On the contrary, he sees Trump's election as a wake-up call; a necessary blow to pull Europe out of the inertia that holds it hostage. For too long, Rama says, the EU has been disconnected from reality and hampered by its own bureaucracy.

“The wisdom of the world has moved forward without us, and suddenly we are realizing that we have been left behind,” he says. “In this time of great challenges, we lack political strength; we remain on the surface, when depth is what the moment demands.”

The bloc's cumbersome bureaucracy, according to Rama, is a key obstacle. "Europe itself is out of balance: its bureaucracy weighs more than politics and internal squabbles seem bigger than the common horizon."

If the continent is to become stronger, it needs “more Europe, not less Europe,” and more reflection on the policies and actions that may have hindered it.

“It’s about strategic thinking and the right policies and where we want Europe to be in 10 years or so,” Rama says. “Europe needs to change and it needs to change fast. Everyone is saying it, everyone is aware of it, and yet others are moving at a much faster pace.”

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Albania, a NATO member since 2009, has strongly supported the Euro-Atlantic alliance. An indicator of its enthusiasm for what Rama calls “the only morally sustainable position” is a car license plate prominently displayed outside his office, bearing the word “Ukraine” and decorated with red hearts.

"Get us into Europe and I'm ready to sign an agreement that clearly states that we don't want to have the power of veto," Rama said.

Në ish-shtetin stalinist nuk ka nostalgji për Rusinë e sotme, edhe pse intelektualët shqiptarë shprehin një dashuri për gjigantët e letërsisë ruse që lexoheshin dhe mësoheshin deri sa diktatori Enver Hoxha i preu lidhjet me Moskën.

“Çdo njeri që interesohet për botën mund të dojë shumë gjëra nga Rusia,” shton Rama. “Por jo politikën ruse. Në Shqipëri sigurisht që nuk na merr malli për faktin që nuk kemi pasur asnjë punë me Moskën që nga viti 1960.”

Gjashtë muaj pas nisjes së pushtimit të Ukrainës nga Putini në shkurt 2022, autoritetet bashkiake të Tiranës e riemëruan bulevardin ku ndodhej ambasada ruse në “Rruga Ukraina e Lirë”, duke bërë të qartë se çdo dërgesë postare do të drejtohej në adresën e re. Misioni diplomatik u detyrua shpejt të zhvendosej.

Megjithatë, Rama është gjithashtu kritik ndaj mënyrës se si Evropa ka trajtuar negociatat e paqes, duke i dhënë meritë Trumpit për çeljen e komunikimit me Rusinë dhe për sjelljen e “diçkaje të re dhe të rëndësishme në lojë”.

“Ai solli komunikimin dhe diplomacinë në mes të një lufte që mund të ketë qenë e para ndonjëherë pa komunikim,” thotë ai. “Po, e bëri në mënyrë përçarëse sepse kështu vepron, por edhe këtu lind pyetja për ne: çfarë po bëjmë ne? Si ka mundësi që Evropa të mos ketë pasur kurrë një plan paqeje, apo komunikim të drejtpërdrejtë me Rusinë? A është kjo normale për atë që jemi si evropianë? Unë nuk mendoj kështu”, thotë Rama.

Në këtë boshllëk, thotë ai, Putini ka arritur të ketë sukses “si shahisti brutal që është” duke ushqyer një psikologji frike për sulme të mëtejshme, kur në realitet trupat ruse kishin kaluar vite duke u përpjekur të merrnin rajonin e Donbasit në Ukrainë.

Pushtimi ka nxjerrë në pah domosdoshmërinë gjeopolitike të përfshirjes së Ballkanit Perëndimor në bllokun me 27 anëtarë, thotë ai.

Rama e pranon hapur se, në dëshirën për t’u anëtarësuar në BE, Shqipëria është detyruar “të gëlltisë shumë bretkosa”.

Por anëtarësimi është gjithashtu ekzistencial. Pas më shumë se 500 vitesh si një cep periferik i Perandorisë Osmane dhe gati pesë dekadash nën një regjim komunist më brutal se çdo tjetër, asnjë synim nuk tingëllon më i suksesshëm se ky.

Gjeografia, thonë ata që janë ende mjaftueshëm të rritur për ta kujtuar, i bënte evropianë, por mizoria dhe paranoja e Hoxhës bënë që shqiptarët të mos ndiheshin kurrë pjesë e kontinentit.

Dekadat e tranzicionit të trazuar pas rënies së regjimit vetëm sa e kanë forcuar qëndrimin ndaj BE-së. Nga të gjithë kandidatët që presin në derën e Brukselit, asnjë vend nuk ka mbështetje më të lartë për anëtarësim se Shqipëria. Ky entuziazëm shpjegon pjesërisht pse Rama e ka vendosur vitin 2030 si objektiv për anëtarësimin e Shqipërisë në BE, me synimin që negociatat të mbyllen deri në fund të vitit 2027; një ambicie që kundërshtarët e tij e quajnë “krejtësisht jorealiste”, por lideri 2 metra i gjatë duket i vendosur të bëjë gjithçka që duhet.

“Get us into Europe and I’m ready to sign a deal that clearly states that we don’t want to have the power of veto,” he says. “We will never use our vote against the majority. We don’t want our own commissioner either. We can make a deal with Italy and have the Italian commissioner be our commissioner. We’re ready to do that as a guarantee against any fear that some crazy guy from the Balkans will come into the club with the power of veto and start imposing things.”


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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