Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

In his speech before the at the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations in Berlin, the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama called on the European Union to have the same strategic courage that existed during the unification of Eastern and Western Germany.

In his speech Rama reminded of the time when the Berlin wall fell, leading to Germany becoming one country again. He stated that this proved to be a geopolitical turning point and a moment of great transformations. But this moment, in his opinion, would not be the same were it not for the then chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl. He, stated Rama, approached this event not as an administrative task, but as something with geopolitical necessity, recognizing that the moment should be seized now, without waiting for the institutions and legislation to catch up.

Edi Rama made those points relating to the current discussions in the EU concerning the potential enlargement of the bloc, as well as the future of Europe as a whole. He emphasized that the Western Balkans should not be left out of the picture during these talks. PM of Albania stated that the region’s importance now is bigger than ever, saying that a lot of projects critical to Europe need to include Western Balkans and Albania in particular. For example, according to Rama, corridors through which Europe can receive its energy go through his country, while the minerals that recently became critical are present in Albanian deposits.

Rama’s proposal consisted of granting candidate countries not a full EU membership, but rather a limited one, that would allow their participation in discussions and some of the processes but without the veto right. This way, the candidates would be able to join the numerous EU frameworks and and common instruments, helping them integrate while acknowledging that they are not yet full members. Several times he mentioned former chancellor Kohl, saying that he recognized, that administratively the reunification of Germany wasn’t perfect, yet he took the chance which allowed to join the two states back into one.

Albanian PM’s speech happens while in his country the protests against project linked to Jared Kushner are raging. The protests were triggered by concerns that project connected to Trump’s family would hurt the ecology and that it is against the EU regulations. Some started to demand the PM’s resignation. Rama dismissed these concerns as a fabrication in the social media by his opponents.