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Zef Mazi: Rama's promise of EU membership in 2030 is an "illusion"!

2025-05-06 13:43:11Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Zef Mazi: Rama's promise of EU membership in 2030 is an
Zef Masi/Edi Rama

Edi Rama's promise to bring Albania into the European Union by 2030 is an " illusion ", the country's former chief negotiator for membership told BIRN.

Aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in government in the May 11 parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Rama has unveiled a program titled “Albania 2030,” pledging to complete EU membership negotiations by 2027 and secure membership by the end of the decade.

Rama's government has advertised the opening of 16 out of 35 negotiation chapters by 2022, but former diplomat Zef Mazi, Albania's chief negotiator with the EU in 2020-2022, said that opening chapters "is not the same thing" as closing them. Albania, so far, has not closed any.

"Montenegro had opened 32 chapters in 2012. 13 years later, in 2025, Montenegro has been able to close only five chapters, if I'm not mistaken," Zef said in an interview.

“Therefore, I cannot understand where the rhetorical enthusiasm for concluding negotiations in 2027 or for granting EU passports comes from. As much as I would like to see things in a different light, this seems more illusionary than realistic to me.”

“I am very cautious when it comes to this, especially being aware of the circumstances and the situation within the EU and the skepticism of some EU member states regarding the Western Balkans in general,” said Mazi, who is 69 and now retired.

EU integration is not a party issue

Albania holds parliamentary elections on May 11, which could give Rama another four years in power, in addition to the 12 years he has had since 2013.

During this time, Rama's Socialist Party has been hit by a series of organized crime and corruption scandals and accused of violating media freedoms, yet it continues to face a fractious opposition.

Critics say that, with little to boast about on the domestic front, Rama is promising rapid EU accession in an effort to secure support ahead of the election. He even displayed a mock-up of an EU passport for Albania.

However, Mazi warned that EU integration should be seen as a national issue, not a political football.

"EU integration is not a party issue, but a country issue," he said.

“When a country becomes a member state, the name plate does not say 'Socialist Party' or 'Democratic Party', but the name of the country. The rest is public relations and campaigning.”

"There is a lot of political pomp when a Group (of chapters) is opened. Edi Rama does not hesitate to use it," said Mazi.

"He even goes to Brussels in person for an event that requires no ceremony, but is simply part of a normal process. It is advertised for PR and internal political consumption and capital more than understanding what it really means."

Every reform is important

The biggest challenge facing Albania, he said, is creating a “fully functional, stable and powerful structure dedicated solely to EU integration.”

This structure should consist of permanent, non-rotational, highly qualified, professional, diplomatic, political and technical staff, all under a separate roof at ministerial level."

"EU integration is and should be seen as a package," he said.

“Reforms are not hierarchical in importance; each is important in its own right. Of course, some are articulated more often, some not so much.”

“Everything that happens in a candidate country has an impact on the EU integration process: politics and political parties, parliament, reforms, the fight against corruption, the judiciary, justice, security… business, media, local government, academia, agriculture, industry, customs, monopolies and so on.”

And then there is the issue of enlargement fatigue within the EU itself.

Despite rhetoric from Brussels in favor of further enlargement in the Balkans, some members remain skeptical, Mazi said: “Unfortunately, there are not enough strong and numerical supportive voices to promote the integration of Albania, as well as the Western Balkans for this matter.”

Beyond a general nervousness about enlargement, integration can also be hindered by individual member states with specific bilateral disputes with a candidate, as has been the case between North Macedonia and EU members Greece and Bulgaria.

Asked if there might be some member states that specifically oppose Albania's accession, Mazi said: " I think there are, although they don't say it openly; what some say publicly is different or even the opposite of what they say in closed EU meetings. "


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