Discussion with Students on the Progress of Albania’s EU Negotiations Process

Prime Minister Rama held an open meeting with young students on the progress of Albania’s European Union negotiations process and its direct impact on their lives and future.

During the discussion, the Prime Minister shared reflections on the historical importance of this process, linking European integration not simply to a political objective, but to concrete opportunities for education, employment and equality for Albanian youth within the European space.

The meeting also served as a platform to hear students’ views and questions, encouraging an open dialogue on the challenges and expectations related to Albania’s path towards the EU.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here with you.

While the ministers were speaking, I counted the room: there are on average 18 people per row, around 12 rows, and only 27 boys. What matters more, however, is that the rest are girls. I have great belief in girls and women and, increasingly, it is evident, in my view, in this society we live in, in this time we live in, not only here but across the world, that if humanity is to be saved, that salvation will come from women and girls.

Having said that, I am glad we are here to talk about this topic, which at first glance seems like something discussed every day, yet feels distant. Because many people think that we are, in fact, already in Europe, as lon g as we can move freely, as long as we can choose to leave, to stay, to work in Europe, and everything else feels unrelated to us. When I say “us”, I mean citizens.

But this process is such that, the more you follow it, the more you understand what it really means to be a country that is not part of the European Union. To put it simply: you are students, and of course you can decide to go study abroad, but the moment you cross the border without a visa, you are foreigners.

And the moment you step into a university, you are not European students, you are foreign students, and as such you are treated differently. You do not have the same conditions as European students and, regardless of how capable you are, if you enrol in a university, you pay much more than European students, because you are foreigners. If you then want access to other services, wherever you go, you are foreigners. You pay much more than European students.

With membership in the European Union, everything changes completely. You are locals, just as you are here in Tirana, whether in a lecture hall in Lisbon or Warsaw, just as in a university in Albania or in any city across Europe. You are locals and, for that reason, you do not pay more than locals, you do not face any additional difficulty in accessing services compared to local students, and you are no longer foreigners when it comes to the labour market. You can choose work not only within the borders of Tirana or Albania, or within a city where you might know someone who helps you start looking for a job as a foreigner, through a long and difficult process of documents, but you can seek work in any city across Europe as a local. No one will look at you and say: “Where are you from? This is the European Union, and Albania is not.”

So, even taking just this narrow perspective, this effort has meaning and has a direct impact on each and every one of you.

Then there is the rest, as Majlinda mentioned, which relates to how many things come here for universities, for lecture halls, for laboratories, for you, as locals not only of Albania but of the European Union. Programmes, funding, and so on.

So this is not about a formal transition or a formal change of status of the country. It is about a fundamental change in the position and the relationship between the country and the Albanian people, and the countries and peoples of Europe. I only took this part as an example, but in every aspect of the country’s life, things change completely.

Now, before I give you the floor to ask questions or express whatever you wish, I want to tell you something: never, ever before, and if there are history students here, I would be very interested to hear any evidence to the contrary, but as long as I have no such evidence, I will repeat it: never before has Albania had fortune smile upon it as it does today. When I say today, I mean in these recent years. Never has Albania had fortune smile upon it in terms of the possible future of its people, to be free, to be equal before the law and to have at their disposal not a country of 28 thousand square kilometres, but an entire continent as locals.

It has seemed like fortune smiled before, for sure, when the Albanian people were liberated from occupiers; it seemed like a moment of equality and happiness when, after liberation, the country embarked on building socialism. But time showed that it was not the road to paradise, but the road to hell.

Whereas in this case, this is not the road to paradise, no one claims that, but it is a secure path towards a reality where, for the first time in their history, Albanians will be safer and more protected from any turn or circumstance of history that could work against them. And that is a very big thing.

Fortune is smiling on us because all the stars have aligned in support of this dream, which has been a centuries-old dream of Albanians, who have always looked towards the West, yet despite that, the West has always been out of reach.

The stars have aligned because, on one hand, we have done significant work, and I say this openly, to change Albania’s position, which until yesterday was looked down upon. All Albanians who have lived or travelled abroad know this: it was enough to show your passport and see the face of the border officer to feel that something was wrong with being Albanian. This has changed as a result of many things we have worked on.

But that alone is not enough. You can do all your homework as a small country, but if the larger countries that decide the fate of smaller ones do not intend to take you with them to the next level, you cannot move forward.

And today we are in a situation where all the EU countries want to take us with them. Because, after a long period without new members, the EU has reopened its door, not just in words, because in words it has always been open: “We are waiting for you, we are eager to have you, but you must do more work.” Just like those who ruled here once used to say that the road to the red horizon is glorious, but still far away.

Now it is no longer about words, but about results. And for this reason, we have managed to open all negotiation chapters in record time, like no one else. Not because we are more capable than those before us, but because we have been capable and, at the same time, we have had a counterpart equally interested in recognising that capability.

Because you can be capable, but if you are not fairly assessed, like a student whose professor is biased or distracted, you may not receive the grade you deserve. And with large countries, this is very common.

There is a reason for the saying: big countries do what they want, small countries endure what they must.

In any case, this is the context.

And thank you for being here to listen.

Listening today is rare. Most of your lives, and not only yours, but of many others, are lived in front of the mirror of the phone, where listening is interrupted by a swipe.

So, it is a real privilege to have in front of you such a large group of young people still listening, without yet starting to cough or get restless, that is usually the first sign that it is going on too long.

So thank you for being here. Thank you all.