Conversation with the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama

On Monday 17 November, the Clingendael Institute welcomed the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, to the Institute for a conversation centered around 'Albania in the fast-lane to the European Union?'

Recently, the European Commissioner for EU Enlargement, Marta Kos, stated: “Albania has made unprecedented progress” on its path towards future EU membership. Albania has opened the final EU accession negotiations cluster on Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion the morning of our event and has set a new record, namely, to open negotiations with the EU on all six clusters in just over a year. 

Prime Minister Edi Rama said at Clingendael:

“The EU is a blessing for a country like ours to build institutions and democracy. For decades, Albania was one of the most isolated countries from the East and the West. Europe is our free choice and our choice for safety and security.” 

During the evening, topics such as Albania’s EU candidate status, the country’s role in NATO, organised crime, and migration were discussed.

The event was opened by Clingendael's General Director Monika Sie Dhian Ho. After the opening Edi Rama took the stage for an open and candid conversation and Q&A session moderated by Clingendael's Researcher Wouter Zweers. More than eighty guests, with among them students, journalists, policymakers, and researchers joined the conversation.

Watch highlights of the conversation below. 

Researcher Wouter Zweers will publish a policy brief with a group of Western European think tanks soon. The paper recognises the dynamism in Albania’s EU accession, but also expresses concerns about democratic consolidation, the enforcement of EU regulations, and about the ability of local governments, the private sector and civil society to be an active part of Albania’s EU accession journey.

This event was co-organised with the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in The Netherlands.