The Prime Minister of Albania has his office next to the Pyramid of Tirana. One of the city’s most characteristic landmarks, its history mirrors that of the country as a whole: opened as a Hoxha museum in 1988, it now houses a technology center.

Edi Rama has been in power since 2013 under the banner of the European dream. Both Brussels and the US view him as a valuable partner and a crucial leader both for his own country and the Western Balkans, a region with its fair share of difficulties.

Albania has changed with Rama at the helm: its GDP has doubled, millions of tourists now visit the country, and several difficult sectors have been reformed. Of course, it’s still an uphill road: Albanians continue to emigrate en masse, and there’s still a lot of work to be done fighting corruption in the nation.

An artist, professor, former basketball player and mayor of Tirana for 11 years, Rama has what it takes to play a leading role in an era in which Europe is suffering from a universally-acknowledged leadership deficit.

He welcomed us just before he sought a fourth term in the May elections, in the wake of a crisis in Greek-Albanian relations and with the various long-standing issues concerning the Greek minority still unresolved. He had an answer for everything: from his country’s EU accession, which he expects to be completed in 2030, to the much-discussed migrant agreement with Meloni. And from the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to the blessed Anastasios, the late Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, and the first trip he made as a free citizen to Corfu. But the discussion started with the big picture:

“We live in revolutionary times. What is happening feels like a revolution. And we have to live with it and react to it, not complain about it. We mustn’t think the status quo we’ve grown used to can help us. My question isn’t about the US or Russia, it’s about Europe.

Do you agree with those who say that there is a lack of leadership in the European Union today?

Europe is humanity’s most amazing project in terms of how people can organize themselves. And how something incredible can be built through politics. But, as things stand today, Europe is like a patient with 27 doctors. Something fundamental has to change. I’m not sure it can, but if it doesn’t, we can be sure the situation could become more difficult still for Europe.

How would you describe Greek-Albanian relations today? Because we’re talking here today after months of turbulence sparked by the Fredi Beleri affair.

Relations are fine now. They can always be much better. They were bad for a while, because of an issue that was very important for the Greek side, but was just one issue among many for us. But, yes, we’re fine now.

It’s been almost four and a half years since Greece and Albania agreed to take our dispute regarding the EEZ to The Hague. And yet the compromis still hasn’t been drafted. Why is it taking so long?

It’s because something else got in the way. We have an expression that when you’ve made your bed, you can burn all the covers over a flea. I think the momentum was lost, because we made a very good start when Kyriakos came to power. It was a very good start. We had a shared perspective on the long history and importance of our relationship, and of course we wanted to press ahead on some pending issues. We assign a lot of weight to bringing this absurd law on the war between us to an end. Because, you know, legally we’re at war.

But that law was rescinded by Karolos Papoulias back in 1987.

No, it hasn’t been rescinded, but it must be. What actually happened was that we signed a treaty of friendship. Yes, but the law is still on the books. So we have a treaty that makes us very close friends, while legally we’re at war. This is the somewhat schizophrenic relationship we have as neighbors.

You brought up the state of war in response to a question about The Hague. Are you running the two issues together?

No. What we discussed, and what both I and your Prime Minister have said from the very start, is that we have to clear up all the loose ends from the past, and this is one of them. The state of war is really important for us. The delimitation of the maritime zone is a separate issue. And one that we have to resolve.

Is there a fixed timeframe for the compromis?

It’s about both sides sitting down and working together and not allowing themselves to be distracted by the things that have been holding us hostage for so long.

You made an agreement with the Prime Minister of Italy, Ms. Meloni, on the Refugee issue. There were some objections from the Italian judiciary. There were some who criticized it, saying that it’s like the richest countries paying the poorest countries to do what they don’t want to do in their own backyard. What do you have to say to that?

That that’s not how it is, because there’s no payment involved. We haven’t asked for money and there is no profit in this agreement for us. We’re doing it out of a sense of obligation to Italy, which has been very supportive of us from the very first day our country opened up to the world. Italy was there for us when things were tough and asked for nothing in return. In fact, Italy reached into its own pocket to help and support us. So they asked if it was possible and we said “yes.”

You are trying to attract foreign investment. First of all, do Greeks invest here?

Not as much as I’d like. That’s one of the disadvantages of this relationship, which has never focused on opportunities, even when it is in good shape. And that’s crazy—I mean, just think of the opportunity cost. There are investors, of course, but Greece has a few people who have done some very beautiful things, and a lot of people who have built ugly things and destroyed a great deal of beauty. Of course, that’s a Mediterranean sin, not just a Greek one. So they should come, instead of complaining about who is investing. They need to come and invest.

You have major projects in progress.

We do, yes.

You have awarded strategic investor status to, among others, Jared Kushner, who is Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Or, rather, Donald Trump is Jared Kushner’s father-in-law.

Yes, indeed, Prime Minister. There are two major projects and one of them is the conversion of an uninhabited island into a luxury resort. Is there a scheduled delivery date?

There are two projects Mr. Kushner is involved in. One is completely private. The other is in partnership with the state. The Albanian government will have shares in it through our investment company. The first project is well underway. They’ve been cleared for everything. So it’s up to them now to proceed with the construction phase. The second one, the island, is much more complicated because it involves a lot of infrastructure issues, but it’s an amazing project. And if it comes to fruition, it will be wonderful.

There have been articles in the international press saying that Mr. Kushner’s business activities—in general, not those in Albania, specifically—may benefit from his father-in-law’s position. Is that a concern for you?

First of all, when these agreements were made, his father-in-law wasn’t in the White House; rather, he was a defendant in who knows how many cases. Of course, there were people who bet he would be president again and others who thought he would never return. But it was never a political issue for us, or for me personally. It was never about whether he or his wife was someone’s son-in-law or someone’s daughter. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: these are American investors who are incredibly committed to these projects, and who are laser-focused on every detail. And by the way—though it’s the only way we’ve ever operated—the first thing Jared said to me was this: “Prime Minister, everything has to be done according to the rules.”

Albania will be going to the polls in three months’ time. Will you be visiting Athens again, like you did last year?

I might go, but not to campaign. The registration process is underway which will allow our citizens to vote by post for the first time. There’s a plan for a labor program, too, but I’m not sure when it will be implemented. It will seek to promote work openings in the Albanian tourism and construction sectors for Albanians who live in Greece but want to return to the places of their birth.

The interview with the Albanian Prime Minister will be broadcast in its entirety at 00.20 on Mega’s “Big Picture”.

Source: Tovima.com