TIRANA, Sept 28 /ATA-BY Maela Marini/ – Albania has made significant progress over the past decade and is now experiencing a revolution of rising expectations, Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on Monday.
Speaking at an interparliamentary conference attended by representatives of Albanian institutions, the European Parliament and European national parliaments, Rama highlighted Albania’s progress towards EU integration as well as current political developments.
Rama referred to the so-called “flamingo revolution,” saying it was an example of the broader shift in expectations taking place in Albania.
“When we talk about these moments in Albania, I am sure you have had quite a lot of fun recently with the flamingos. Although I am not sure whether you will find them, or whether they will be as beautiful as they look in the Instagram photos shared by your colleagues,” Rama said.
“But I am referring to them because they are the best example of this moment we are going through in Albania,” he said.
Rama said the country had moved from an era when people tended to think things could always get worse to a new era in which they believed things could get better.
“We are living through this moment in history that has been defined as a revolution of rising expectations. People have realised that the country is capable of reaching even higher. People have realised that the country can become completely different. People have realised that many things are changing and that there is visible development for everyone,” Rama said.
At the same time, Rama said people had questions and that it was natural for those questions to be accompanied by anxiety in the current climate.
“This great confusion between freedom of speech and freedom of access has created a kind of pressure stemming from a great deal of inaccurate news and many conspiracy theories, which have increased the heavy social burden,” he said.
The conference, titled “Strategic Agenda for EU Enlargement and Albania’s Accession”, is being held in Tirana from Sept. 27 to 29, bringing together representatives of parliaments and institutions from EU member states, candidate countries and potential candidates.
The conference’s three thematic sessions focus on the EU enlargement agenda and Albania’s path to membership; enlargement as a strategic factor for reforms, stability and security; and parliamentary leadership and engagement in advancing European integration.
The conference aims to brief participating parliaments on Albania’s progress towards membership, strengthen parliamentary cooperation and support from EU member-state parliaments for the integration process, consolidate partnerships with candidate countries, and provide a forum for parliamentary committees on European affairs and other actors involved in enlargement policy to put forward their comments and recommendations.
Discussions are also focusing on the progress of the enlargement process, the experiences and challenges of candidate countries and the role of parliaments in advancing European integration, in support of Albania’s strategic goal of concluding accession negotiations by the end of 2027 and joining the EU by 2030.
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