'Crime is a problem everywhere, and Brussels isn't better': PM Rama defends Albania on path to EU

Albania deserves to become a member of the European Union as soon as possible after a decade of reforms and civil support, Prime Minister Edi Rama told Euronews.

The Western Balkan membership hopeful has entered the final stretch of negotiations with the EU and looks at 2030 as a possible entry date to the bloc.

Albania has been a candidate country for more than a decade, but has benefited from the geopolitical impulse to enlarge the union triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Albania is now seen as a frontrunner.

Rama, who has been in office since 2013 and secured a fourth term as prime minister last year, said Albania has gone through a transformation and is committed to European integration. He argued the country has a history of belonging to large empires and "the EU is a good empire" to guarantee freedom and the rule of law.

The European Commission has acknowledged the reform process under Rama, indicating that the country could be fit to join the bloc by the end of the decade, provided that the pace of reforms remains.

The country of 2.3 million people, roughly the size of the city of Prague, could be easily absorbed by the bloc in terms of both population and economic impact.

Still, the Commission indicated in its enlargement report published last month that Albania must strengthen efforts to fight organised crime, improve systems to prevent money laundering and combat human trafficking as essential to align with EU standards.

Rama told Euronews that crime and corruption are serious issues and his government treats them as such, but he also added that criminality and organised crime are not exclusive to Tirana.

"Before people thought Albania was this shithole in the middle of Europe, now they see it's part of the European mosaic," he said on Euronews' flagship programme The Europe Conversation. "Do we have problems with organised crime? Yes, but who doesn't? Look at this city (Brussels). That's another example. But there are also great things."

Close ties with Italy

Rama, who was in Brussels this week to participate in a European Commission forum on enlargement, said his European counterparts have shown support for Albania's accession to the bloc and pointed to his close relationship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

For a country to join the EU, beyond completing the technical negotiations with the Commission, it must obtain the unanimous political approval of all member states.

Albania and Italy entered an agreement in 2023 in which the Rama administration agreed to host migration centres, built, paid for and monitored by Italian authorities. The deal has attracted international attention but also criticism for outsourcing Europe's borders to a third country and for going against fundamental principles of asylum law.

Rama defended the agreement, saying it was a bilateral accord between Meloni and his administration at a time when Italy required assistance with migrants. He said his government does not regret the decision and does not consider it a loss of sovereignty.

"Italy asked us. And when Italy asks, we always say yes," he added. "Italians are Albanians dressed in Versace."

Rama has ruled out extending the "Albanian model" to more countries beyond Italy, even if the system has been floated by other member states in Europe as an option, as Europe takes a harder line on migration.