Prime Minister Edi Rama is in Prague, Czech Republic, today to participate in the 19th edition of the GLOBSEC Forum, renowned as one of Europe’s premier dialogue platforms. This year, the forum focuses on maintaining global stability and the significant role of Central and Eastern European countries in this regard.
The forum is organized under the patronage of Czech President Petr Pavel, featuring heads of state and government, as well as leaders from business, academia, innovation, and senior representatives from international organizations and NGOs. The discussions revolve around the global challenges faced by countries and their collective journey towards peace, prosperity, and cooperation.
Prime Minister Edi Rama was invited to a panel discussion titled “The Region Under Siege: The Fragility of the Western Balkans,” led by Steve Clemons.
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Hello everyone! This session is titled “The Region Under Siege: The Fragility of the Western Balkans.” We have a very engaging and influential speaker. One dimension of this conference is that we discuss not only the Middle East, Asia, Ukraine, and Russia, but also the global fragility, including the Western Balkans. We will discuss what causes these instabilities and what can be done about them.
We welcome Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama! I mentioned to Prime Minister Rama that I am very envious of his shoes because I’ve been walking from one stage to another today with uncomfortable shoes, and he said they are very cheap, so I might get a pair.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I said you could get them, not me.
– Mr. Prime Minister, let me start with the topic we have here, concerning the stability of the Western Balkans, which has been a concern for a long time in many GLOBSEC sessions I’ve attended. Let me ask you, what are the major drivers of instability at this moment, and what do you think the region and its surroundings are not doing well enough to understand?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: First of all, I should praise Vladimir Putin because, thanks to him, the European Union understood how important it is to keep the Western Balkans very close and how significant the Western Balkans is for the European Union. It is unfortunate that we needed Vladimir to make this clear in the most difficult and criminal way. However, it is useful.
– Doesn’t this create a real problem, for example, I’ve noticed, in the transatlantic relationship with NATO, that before the invasion of Ukraine, there were people saying that NATO had no further purpose for existing, but when faced with a heightened perception of threat, this changes. Is that healthy?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Regarding the European Union, I can tell you that there were many people in the Union who did not believe at all in what was repeatedly stated as a motto: “The Western Balkans should be in the European Union.” “Your place is in the European Union, one day you will be in the European Union,” – echoing what communists once told us, that our country was in the earthly paradise, and our horizon was there, we would reach it one day.
Of course, reality hitted very hardly, the war in Ukraine shook the status quo, and the European Union started to be much more aware how important the Western Balkans is, especially for the security of Europe. I have to say say that Ursula Von Der Leyen played a crucial role in this, as from day one she tried to reshape the narrative being conveyed, but of course, she needed Putin’s to do it properly.
Recently, I interviewed Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice President, and he mentioned an incident I didn’t know and should have, which was a cyber attack from Iran against Albania, which, according to Brad, closed at least a quarter of the Albanian economy. Brad asked: Why is this not considered a violation equivalent to a territorial invasion that breaches the UN Charter? He was very determined when he said this. We don’t seem to understand the importance of cyber vulnerability and the damage that can be done. I want to ask this about Albania, as Albania is part of the stability equation in the region. Can you tell us about this Iranian attack and what you are doing about actors like Russia or others who use digital sabotage to undermine the government?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: First, before getting to the point of what should happen to consider cyber warfare a real war and respond accordingly within a framework of rules that addresses it properly, we need to ask: What mental and physical health violations must occur for our children to consider social media a real problem? I go back to that because I think it gets the purpose of the answer. We are still quite far from properly addressing the digital world, which continues to grow and gain ground in many real-world spaces, bringing many benefits but also many threats and consequences.
– So, should we go back to the beginning before we understand what constitutes a real war?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: It is part of it, but we need to continue considering freedom of speech and not react to all these insanities happening to our children, our communities, and our public opinions through this incredible volume of misinformation and disinformation. It is absolutely irresponsible.
– Are we in a good place, and I use “we” for myself, for you, for everyone. Can we be resilient? One reason I asked about Iran is that you have promoted closer discussions and transparency between Kosovo and Serbia. Brad Smith mentioned that one of the concerns is elections in Moldova, where disinformation and sabotage activities are increasingly being built in these surrounding areas. I am interested in knowing how you see this and if there are things we should start considering regarding this resilience, and what role Albania plays in this equation?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Albania is clearly on the side of peace, dialogue, and common progress. Our strong belief is that we should see the future through the lens of the past but rather view the past through the lens of the future. When you start from there, many things become clear, many obstacles become less problematic, and more steps can be taken. In this regard, we have promoted peace, dialogue, and cooperation with everyone. I undertook the initiative to visit Serbia 68 years after the last visit there. It was the start of something in which I have great belief. I would say that the Western Balkans is in a much better position today than before. We have never been in a better position as Albania and Albanians, and this situation in the Western Balkans is also part of that.
On the other hand, I have to say that I no longer see a significant difference between us and the EU. Certainly, when it comes to the economy, we have a significant gap that needs to be filled, but for the rest, I don’t see much of a difference. I would say that we have always been Europeans; we are Europeans. This is not something that is decided or can be decided in Brussels. Looking at the perspective of being a full member of the EU, I strongly believe that even today we would be an added value.
– When talking about EU membership, you thanked Secretary of State Blinken for the direction towards EU membership. However, the issue is how important the EU and NATO are as entities, even though it’s not about membership, but NATO has considered the Western Balkans a priority, and the US has sought to bring more stability to the Western Balkans.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: For Albania, it is very clear. We are fully committed without reservation. Even when we went in the wrong direction at times, we did so without reservation. We do this and are not good possible Eurocrats; we are Europeans, but we are Albanians. We unreservedly want to become EU members. We are unreservedly aligned with the EU’s foreign policy. Unreservedly, we are NATO members, and likewise unreservedly, we are against Russian aggression in Ukraine.
We are a country where it is generally very clear wherever you go, from taxi drivers to everyone else, where we stand, whereas this is not true for the entire region. Vladimir Putin’s popularity in Albania is between 1 and just above 1 percent, while there are other places in the region where Vladimir Putin is more popular than, say, Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. The thing is how to bring this whole club together, how to unify this region, and integrate it fully into the EU, which means integrating it fully with European principles and values, but also with the EU and, of course, with the Euro-Atlantic way of seeing external relations. This is not an easy task.
– I’ll ask the friends to give us a few more minutes since we started a bit late.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: When you organize meetings with people from the Balkans, you need to make them longer..
– Yes, we’ll take a few more minutes. One question I want to ask, even though there are other questions I want to ask, is about your reputation, which is indeed interesting. You are known for creating very good relationships with members of Trump’s team when he was president, as well as with Biden’s team. It seems you manage to navigate both sides. Many people want to learn this skill. For instance, linking it to the President, Jared Kushner is developing a very beautiful property in Albania, but potentially he could be a successor to Joe Biden who might take office. I don’t want to link this to America; I want to link it to how you manage to navigate these global personalities while you are at the center.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I grew up during the time of communism, under a ruthless communist regime. We were “the North Korea of Europe.” The communists used to say, “the friends of our friends are our friends,” while the enemies of our friends are our enemies. I sometimes see this behavior reflected even among Democrats in Europe and America, not the Democratic Party specifically, but Democrats in general.
I do not believe in this approach; I do not believe in choosing friends in this manner. On the other hand, I might be the tallest Prime Minister in the area, but I am aware that I don’t represent a very tall country. We need friends and we have to deal. For example, I am friends with Jared and Alex Soros.
-Yes, I saw both photos.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Alex is here, which is both a confrontation and, I would say, more contentious than Biden and Trump. I’ll say this, though: Albania is friends with Turkey and Greece, so how can we take sides? How can we choose? We need to continue strengthening friendships with both of these countries. I am a very good friend with Giorgia Meloni, who represents the right wing, and I had to explain to my left-wing friends that it is not a good idea to think that if I go and speak at her party meeting where I was invited, I would be considered a traitor. This kind of categorization is not useful in today’s world. People are people. In the end, I believe that talking to people—even if you don’t agree with them graciously—is much better than not speaking and stirring up disagreements that can become very damaging for everyone.
-How can you reconcile the agreement you have with Italy to build camps for accommodating migrants? There are two of them, while the majority in the EU are against this agreement. I don’t know what the reaction in Albania is, but how do you reconcile these two? Could this become an obstacle on your path to membership?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: First, it happens today that journalists do not have accurate information. It’s not that many in the EU—EU as such, and by the EU we mean the European Union represented by Ursula von der Leyen—are saying that the agreement is wrong. Many of the so-called progressives, the progressive side of Europe, consider this agreement a bad idea. You’re asking me now how I can reconcile these two. That’s not up to me. My job is to be useful to friends and to Albania so that it is useful to friends. If friends ask for something, you have to stand by them. You don’t necessarily have to agree 100%. You know that we have fought, we have gone to wars together—wars we did not choose, you chose them, we came with you, and we did not question them at all, because that’s how it should be.
That said, the agreement in question is on a topic that is so vast, so important, so decisive for Europe and how Europe should see itself and its future. I’m talking about the issue of migration, and to turn this into a squabble between the left and the right and to transform it into an endless conflict within Europe shows, first, that while this is a problem for all of Europe, a European problem, Europe is not ready to act as one. And second, instead of addressing the problem, it is easier to build daily life based on partisan politics that lead us nowhere.
-We have only one minute left, so I have two brief questions. Let me ask you very quickly: has Russia made any recent attempts to undermine you and your government?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Listen, due to our history, we have been “the North Korea of Europe.” This city, Prague, for us was as inaccessible as Washington and Paris when we were under the communist regime because our regime considered both the West and the East, both American imperialism and Soviet social imperialism, as two sides of the same coin. This is our history. In addition, when the Russians decided to get rid of Stalin, we decided to remain loyal to Stalin.
I’ve said it before. We see things through to the end. So even when the United States or the European Union are not there, we will still be here with you, just like the Japanese soldier who was in the forest and didn’t know the war had ended. By sticking with Stalin, being a Stalinist country until the ‘90s, made our country less interesting for Russia in the region. Consider this: since the ‘90s until today, there has been no high-level visit to Moscow or a visit from Moscow, and no one has missed it. We do not want anything bad for Russia. Russia is a great country, a fantastic culture. I have never understood, by the way, how it is possible that because of the aggression in Ukraine, Dostoevsky is banned in some universities or Stravinsky is considered non grata in some ballet companies. This is part of that unfortunate position we are in a part of our world, but as far as Russia is concerned, we are not interested, there is no appetite there. So, Russia cannot find many spies or people willing to serve Russia for a little money. Therefore, Russia’s interference in our politics—we’ve had some issues, but nothing major. Where Russia is present and very influential, and could really be a problem, is in other parts of the Balkans. That is why we need Serbia and Kosovo to get out of conflict, so we need to keep Serbia on our side as much as possible. This is why, as you mentioned in one of your questions, it is important to link European integration with NATO integration as much as possible. The more NATO is present in as many countries in the Western Balkans, the better. I was among the first to promote Montenegro’s NATO membership. At that time, many countries said no, citing Russian influence, and it actually turned out to be quite beneficial. Now we have Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro in NATO, which is much better than if we only had Albania in the Western Balkans. If we then have Kosovo, Bosnia, and Serbia in NATO, it would make a huge difference.
I appreciate very much that you gave us a snapshot of this situation. I personally see Albania as a very attractive, strategically influential, and beautiful country. Many of my friends have lived and come there, and we are very honored by this quick overview you gave us of it and its role. Applause for Albania’s Prime Minister Rama.