In a speech delivered in Berlin, a city that embodies both division and reunification, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama urged the European Union to adopt a bolder, more strategic approach to enlargement. Speaking before senior German business leaders at the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Rama argued that the continent faces a historic crossroads requiring leadership rather than bureaucratic caution.
“Berlin, the place where perhaps the greatest geopolitical transformation of our lifetime became reality. And not only because a wall fell. But because, after the wall fell, a leader emerged with the courage to understand what history demanded next,” Rama said. He invoked former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who pushed for reunification against widespread skepticism. “Helmut Kohl did not see German reunification as an administrative challenge. He saw it as a geopolitical necessity.”
Rama warned that the EU is making a strategic error by debating its future architecture while leaving the Western Balkans outside. “Because Europe today faces a question remarkably similar to the one Germany faced then,” he said, pointing to energy corridors, digital networks, military mobility, and critical raw materials as areas where the region is central to European ambitions. “The energy corridors Europe needs cross our geography. The digital networks Europe wants require our territory. The critical minerals Europe has suddenly rediscovered as strategic lie beneath our soil. China understands this. Russia certainly understands it. Europe understands it too. Yet sometimes forgets it when writing its own plans.”
Gradual Integration, Not Full Membership
Rather than waiting for full EU membership, Rama proposed a phased approach. “Bring us into Europe's strategic architecture now. Give us seats before giving us vetoes. Give us participation before giving us commissioners. Give us responsibility before giving us every institutional ornament. Bring us into the Energy Union. Into the Digital Union. Into common security frameworks. Into common financial instruments. Into common supply chains,” he demanded. He again compared the situation to the post-Berlin Wall era: “Helmut Kohl did not ask whether reunification was administratively perfect. He asked whether continued division remained strategically acceptable.”
Rama's call comes as the EU grapples with internal divisions and external pressures, from Russia's war in Ukraine to China's growing influence in the Balkans. The Albanian leader has previously urged the EU to seize its 'Helmut Kohl moment', but this Berlin address marked his most detailed articulation of the idea.
AI, Democracy, and the Battle for Truth
The second major theme of Rama's speech focused on artificial intelligence and what he described as a growing threat to democratic societies from algorithm-driven manipulation. “For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, technological leadership may determine not only who becomes wealthier, but who remains sovereign,” he said. Rama highlighted Albania's own digitalisation efforts, calling them “one of the most ambitious digital transformations in Europe.” However, he warned that technological progress is reshaping the information environment in ways that threaten democratic institutions: “An algorithm can now accomplish in minutes what propaganda machines once required years to achieve.”
The Albanian prime minister questioned whether military spending alone can protect European democracies. “We are discussing sovereignty. Europe is investing hundreds of billions of euros in military capabilities, air defence systems, cyber security, critical infrastructure protection and strategic autonomy. All of that is necessary. But what value will all these shields have if our societies remain defenceless against the systematic manipulation of human minds?” He added, “Europe does not need only a shield from missiles. It also needs a shield for the age of algorithms.”
Kushner Project Sparks Protests
Rama's remarks came against the backdrop of growing protests over a controversial tourism development project on Albania's southern Adriatic coast linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The proposed investment includes developments on the island of Sazan and a nearby stretch of coastline. The Albanian government has promoted the project as a major opportunity to attract high-end tourism and boost economic development. Environmental organisations and local activists, however, have raised concerns about the potential impact on protected habitats and biodiversity. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks, blowing whistles and carrying cardboard cut-outs of flamingos, one of the migratory bird species whose habitat campaigners say could be threatened. The protests have entered their 14th day, with political tensions rising as the EU warns on environmental rules. Albanian protests against the Kushner-linked resort have escalated, and the government has pledged EU environmental compliance for the project.
Rama did not directly address the protests in his Berlin speech, but his emphasis on strategic courage and integration may be seen as an attempt to shift the narrative toward broader European ambitions. Whether the EU will heed his call remains uncertain, but his invocation of Kohl's legacy serves as a reminder that historical moments often demand decisions that transcend procedural comfort zones.
