Tirana Marks Europe Day: Rama and EU Ambassador Reject “Blockage” Claims as Costa Tells Albanians “Your Future Is in the European Union”

Prime Minister and head of EU Delegation appear jointly at Europe Week opening, pushing back against the opposition narrative that accession negotiations have stalled. President Begaj, Foreign Minister Hoxha, and European Council President António Costa add to the day’s messaging. Opposition MPs use the occasion to list unmet conditions.

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Albania marked Europe Day on Saturday with a sequence of statements from the country’s senior leadership and from Brussels, anchored by a joint appearance of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the head of the European Union Delegation in Tirana, Silvio Gonzato, at the opening of Europe Week.

The central message from both was a rejection of the framing, advanced repeatedly in recent weeks by the parliamentary opposition, that Albania’s accession negotiations are blocked at the Council of the European Union. The Commission’s IBAR (Interim Benchmark Assessment Report) on Albania’s compliance with interim benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster is currently under discussion in the COELA working group, where member state deliberations are ongoing.

The political sensitivity of the moment is rooted in a combination of factors. The IBAR has been in COELA discussion since March, several member states have signalled reservations, and the trajectory of the file followed the parliamentary vote in March refusing SPAK’s request for security measures against Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, a vote that drew immediate diplomatic concern in Brussels. Against that background, the opposition has framed the absence of a common position as evidence of a stalled process, while the government has insisted the process is moving forward at its own institutional pace.

Gonzato: “Speculation”

Speaking alongside Rama, Gonzato addressed the procedural picture directly.

“I have heard speculation about what is happening in Brussels,” Gonzato said. “First of all, the COELA working group is a working group that brings together representatives of EU member states; they meet behind closed doors in the presence of the European Commission to discuss. The Commission has submitted to this working group the IBAR report, to see whether Albania has met the interim benchmarks needed to move to the next phase, which is the closure of chapters, and the report has made a positive assessment.”

He continued: “It is the member states that will discuss it. It is not put to a vote; they only discuss it. What they need to do, under the leadership of the Council, is to adopt a common EU position that will explain the closing benchmarks Albania needs to meet to close negotiations. The chapter on fundamentals is the first to open and the last to close. This is an important discussion that requires input from all member states. All these matters are being discussed.”

EU enlargement decisions in working groups such as COELA characteristically move through consensus-building and sequential consultations rather than through formal up or down votes. Common positions are arrived at through iterative drafting until reservations from individual capitals are reconciled, a process that can take weeks or months for sensitive files.

Rama: “Selling air”

The Prime Minister echoed Gonzato’s procedural argument in sharper political language, telling reporters that opposition claims of a blockage misread how the negotiating process is structured.

“Today in Brussels it is not Albania negotiating with the EU; it is the Commission discussing with member states,” Rama said. “Albania negotiates with the Commission, not with the states. The Commission represents the states in negotiations with Albania, and then phase by phase, when the Commission considers them completed, it goes to the states to present its report. The Commission considers Albania’s tasks for this phase and the interim benchmarks fulfilled, and now it is the Commission discussing with the member states. To say it has been blocked is to sell air. Whoever believes air can be bought, buys it. But this process has a particular need for you, the people who are inside this process, and for public opinion, to understand how it functions and to communicate it to public opinion.”

Electoral reform

Rama and Gonzato also addressed the parallel discussion on electoral reform, with the EU ambassador linking the process explicitly to the recommendations of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

“On electoral reform, you should contact the person leading this process, Damian Gjiknuri, who can give you a full picture of our approach,” Rama said. “I have personally said it and I repeat it: we are open to listen patiently to whatever is brought to the table. Impositions, ultimatums and predetermined positions, I think enough time has passed to understand that with me they do not work. We are interested in reducing the number of MPs in parliament, and I hope there will be consensus in this direction. Beyond that, every other discussion is open.”

On the timeline, Rama said: “As for 2027, it is an objective set jointly, but a margin has been left, supposedly, for a possible extension up to mid-2028. We are more or less on the same wavelength, and that is why 2030 was set as the objective.”

Gonzato responded: “On electoral reform, one of the requirements we have specified is for Albania to fulfil the recommendations issued in succession by the OSCE. It is part of democratic standards. Democratic pluralism is important. On the territorial-administrative reform, Albania needs to have a local administration capable of benefiting from EU membership. All EU programmes concern local and regional governance. As for the 2027 objective, I have always said that it is important to have a clear objective, because it keeps the parties focused. And this has shown its value: there has been full commitment from the European Commission and from member states to follow this process.”

Rama on the integration project

In his ceremonial remarks at the Europe Week opening, Rama returned to the broader integration argument, situating it within Albania’s justice reform and rule of law track.

“For us Albanians, even in this gloomy time, Europe remains what it was when it could not be reached, except through those weak waves that illegal screens brought into our televisions from outside Albania,” Rama said. “For us, Europe remains a dream and a promised land, an indelible national bequest and an unchanging political mission. Not because we are naïve, nor because we have illusions, but because we know very well, better than anyone else on this continent, what it means to live isolated and surrounded by walls to be protected from Europe.”

Referring to next year’s World Law Congress, scheduled to be held in Albania, Rama said: “Yesterday we had a notable event, which would have been unimaginable a few years ago, the prelude of the World Law Congress that will be held next year in Albania. Albania has become a reference point on the basis of an iron expression of will to place itself under the rule of law, by carrying out a justice reform with no parallel in the region.”

“It would have been absolutely impossible for us to undertake, let alone implement, such a reform if we did not have Europe as a dream and a promised land, as a bequest and an irreplaceable mission,” he added. “If we did not have the EU as an inseparable partner on this road, where the EU’s knowledge transferred to us, on how a country can be turned into an architecture of institutions, is something that cannot be bought, replaced or imagined outside the perimeter of Europe.”

Gonzato on the EU’s external posture

Earlier in his remarks, Gonzato framed the EU’s external posture in the language of an organisation under pressure.

“Europe was built on a promise of freedom, equality and democracy,” he said. “Today, in a world of growing conflicts and economic pressures, we must defend these values both within and beyond our borders. Today we celebrate not only what we are but also what we do, and the commitment to defend our way of life. Now is the time to stand firm for the values we believe in, for international law, and to build stability. Peace in Europe is at stake. In a world of war and threats, the EU must act to protect its citizens, its democracy and its values.”

On enlargement, he added: “The strength of the EU lies in its ability to attract and inspire other countries. Enlargement is a powerful instrument of Europe to promote democracy. By supporting Albania and other candidate countries, Europe is investing in a safer and more united future. There can be no shortcuts to membership. An important part of my work here is to ensure the country remains committed to meeting EU standards. The challenge is also to guarantee quality, implementation and sustainability.”

Costa’s message

European Council President António Costa addressed Albanians directly in a message released for the day, telling them they were being addressed as future members of the Union.

“Dear citizens of Albania, I address you today as future members of the European Union,” Costa said. “On Europe Day, we celebrate our common European project, when our founding members chose unity over division and cooperation over conflict. They decided to build a future of peace, freedom and prosperity on the ashes of the Second World War. We believe that your future is in the European Union. A great deal of hard work is being done to make this happen. Albania has made considerable progress in negotiations over the past year. I encourage you to continue with the momentum of reforms. Together, we will build a common European future. Long live Europe.”

Begaj and Hoxha

President Bajram Begaj marked the day with a written message honouring the architects of the Union and placing Albania near the threshold of accession.

“Today we celebrate Europe Day and honour all those who built and made real the project of the European Union, which has at its heart peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity and freedom,” Begaj wrote. “Albania is today closer than ever to being part of the European family, ready to add its energy and values to the European project.”

Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha framed the day in the language of values rather than destination.

“Europe Day is a testimony to the meaning of peace, unity, solidarity and cooperation,” Hoxha wrote. “It is also a reminder that these values are not given; they were won with great effort and must never be taken for granted. Europe was built on the conviction that dialogue is stronger than division, that solidarity is stronger than fear, and that hope is stronger than conflict. For Albania, Europe is not merely a destination. It is a value choice: democracy, freedom, dignity, rule of law and shared responsibility for a better future.”

“Albania remains firmly committed to its European path,” Hoxha added, “because our future belongs to the European family, ready to contribute with our culture, our resilience and our unwavering belief in a united, free and peaceful Europe. Happy Europe Day. Today is also Albania Day.”

Rama, on social media, kept his own message brief: “GOOD MORNING, and on this Europe Day, where Albania is closer than ever to the European family, I wish you a good weekend.”

Opposition response

The opposition used Europe Day to register the gap between official rhetoric and the conditions on the ground. Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku posted a long statement framing integration as a necessity rather than a slogan.

“A United Europe was not born as a bureaucratic project,” Tabaku wrote. “It was born from the ashes of a continent burned by wars, from the desire never again to allow hatred, totalitarianism and divisions to destroy Europe. Schuman, Monnet, De Gasperi, Adenauer and Churchill believed that peace was not built only with treaties, but with a shared economy, strong institutions and democratic values that bring nations together.”

“Today the European Union faces other challenges: security, global competition, the war in Ukraine, technology and enlargement,” she continued. “Europe is no longer only a peace project. It is a project of strength, stability and security. For us Albanians too, after more than three decades, Europe is no longer a naïve dream. It is a need. It is rule of law. It is justice. It is meritocracy. It is the possibility to build a fairer, more honest and more European Albania. That is why European integration remains our strategic and historic objective. Not as a political slogan, but as a real conviction that Albania can be transformed and become a worthy member of the European Union.”

Freedom Party MP Erisa Xhixho was more direct, telling her followers that the country continues to fall short of European standards. The absence of free and fair elections, corruption, organised crime, institutional capture, mass youth emigration and poverty, she said, are the real obstacles keeping Albania distant from a Europe of values.

Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha used the day to attack Gonzato directly, accusing the ambassador of having “unified” with Rama and behaving as though he were the Prime Minister’s envoy.