Edi Rama: If the EU accepts, great opportunity for Albania to join Kosovo

In an interview for Merkur, Prime Minister Rama explains among other things why his country still wants to become an EU member.

” Edi Rama, 57, was a basketball player of the Albanian national and later made a name as an artist, while now trying to lead his country into the EU.

Mr. Prime Minister, what is there to discuss between Bravaria and Albania?

As you may know, there is a story between our countries that goes through the 80s. At that time Franz Josef Strauss visited Albania unexpectedly and broke the ice with him. After all, Germany and Bavaria were the enemy of the class. Strauss proposed to the Albanian regime a very tempting trade agreement, but nothing came out of it. A street in our capital Tirana bears its name to this day.

What does Söder say about your desire to bring Albania into the EU?

CSU has always been very supportive of us in this matter. Marcus Söder. he told me he believed that the process of approaching Albania, the Western Balkans and the EU should be accelerated. Next year, he wants to come to Tirana on his own.

Angela Merkel is one of your supporters. Is the end of the Chancellor bad news for your EU plans?

That's probably too much to say. But yes, she had some sensitivity to our concerns, which certainly has to do with her past. She grew up under a Communist dictatorship and is therefore perhaps better understood than others. I have rarely met someone who knows the Western Balkans so well and his problems. It will be missed not only in the region, but also throughout Europe.

The membership process has been in stagnation for a long time. Are you disappointed?

First yes, now no more. The EU is different today than it was when it was founded. It's fragmented, it suffers from national agendas and diplomatic interests. And I think it has been greatly influenced by political extremes since the refugee crisis. Right-wing populists may not be in power, but they have a major impact on the policies of moderate governments. This sometimes conflicts with EU values and principles.

Why do you want to be a member?

It's not about the community situation at a specific historical moment. For us, the EU is a promise of peace. In the West people have forgotten this because, thank God, they have not seen war for a long time. We, on the other hand, do. The EU may be slightly more troubled, but ultimately it is the future of the continent.

But with the Western Balkans, the EU would bring problems home, such as the Kosovo conflict.

The EU needs the Western Balkans for its security. It doesn't make sense that she has an internal border with us. And it makes no sense to leave our region to the influence of others in mind China and Russia

They're just the visible part. Remember that we have Christians and Muslims in the region. Leaving the Western Balkans open as a gateway to radicalism or terrorism would be crazy. The EU should finally understand that.

Tensions in the region are increasing. Serbia has recently moved armoured vehicles to the border with Kosovo.

But this is not compared to past tensions. By chance, this is also about the fact that former opponents today all want to join the EU. Military conflicts arise when states are isolated and not when they are in a community. Think of positive development in French-German relations or Ireland. The danger of the EU importing a conflict is low.

Some in the region fear that you want to join Kosovo to form a Greater Albania.

Such mind games are much more likely outside the EU than inside.

While others hesitate, Albania has just accepted many refugees from Afghanistan. Why?

This is part of our own image. We have a proverb saying that” The Albanian house is God's and friend”, and this is where the unannounced friend is to be helped. We have received half a million refugees from Kosovo and 33,000 political opponents from Iran. After communism we too sought refuge in Europe. As a NATO member, we felt compelled to do so. NATO countries cannot just turn their backs on local Afghan workers who risked their lives for them in Afghanistan and leave them to the Taliban butchers.

You want to get 40,000 Afghans?

So far there are about 2,000 and the number is increasing every week. In the country, however, whether this is correct is not discussed. It's also about our self-respect”.