The Albanian government head was invited to speak on the role of states and the future of the European Union. During his address, Rama emphasized that Albania remains a loyal follower of Europe, with its foreign policy fully harmonized with that of the EU.

“It would be different if the Slovenian Prime Minister were to openly criticized Brussels, since he has much to lose; we have nothing to lose. We must remain very open, and beyond what we say and express, one can never doubt our loyalty. We understand clearly our size, weight, and challenges. As Europeans, we want to be free to express our views, but when it comes to following Europe, we are loyal followers. Our foreign policy has been 100% aligned with the EU’s foreign policy for a long time,” Rama said.

The government head added that Albania has never wavered or doubted its loyalty, describing it as “almost blind” in that respect.

Rama identified a key issue facing Europe and Albania: the state does not act as an active entrepreneur but increasingly seeks funds from the budget.

“I think the core issue in initiatives like yours, and our relationship with entrepreneurs, is twofold. First, the problem of entrepreneurs seen not as partners but as opposing what the government and state should do. Second – and more problematic – is that unlike the US or other realities, Europe is not used to having an entrepreneurial state. Essentially, we keep demanding more money from the budget, more spending, more debt, more funds, and so on.

“If we succumb to this, debt grows and we get stuck. Instead, we must empower institutions and ministries with full executive power so they can act with an entrepreneural spirit. They should work with entrepreneurs to generate profits for their benefit and also for the public interest,” Rama said.

/m.q//a.f/u.sh/

Rama is a featured speaker on the high-level panel titled “The State, the EU, and the Champions of the Future,” where he is expected to share Albania’s and the Western Balkans’ perspectives on EU integration with business and political leaders.

He is set to join Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos in the panel “The Bled Promise: Dream or Reality?”, with discussions to center on the EU’s enlargement agenda and the region’s reform trajectory.

Rama is expected to highlight Albania’s progress and the remaining challenges in its EU accession path, with the country approaching the final chapter-opening phase of membership talks.

The forum also offers opportunities for bilateral meetings and expanded regional cooperation.

/m.q//a.f/u.sh/

PM Kurti attended a working dinner invited by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob for leaders of the region and the president of European Council, Charles Michel, last night.

Under the theme “Solidarity for Global Security” within which the forum is taking place this year, regional cooperation, the membership of the Western Balkans in the European Union and security were discussed during the dinner.

“The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of implementing the agreements reached last year in the Berlin Process, where he highlighted the freedom of movement. On January 1, 2024, all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo will travel visa-free to European Union countries, while visas will be required for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In these 50 days remaining before the Summit in Tirana, it is important to begin the complete implementation of the three agreements we signed in Berlin,” Kurti’s office said in a release on Monday.

The Prime Minister welcomed the calls of the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to focus on the expansion of the European Union as well as the opportunities for the countries of the Western Balkans and underlined the respect of minorities and mutual recognition as a prerequisite.

The European Union must expand. The Western Balkans should support the enlargement and the aspirant countries should carry out the reforms that accelerate the membership.

/KosovaPress/

Bled Strategic Forum is a global platform for generating ideas and exchanging views on contemporary society and its future, offering strategic views and solutions to the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow, which are promoted through events, discussions, roundtables, projects, analyses and publications.

Its central annual event – the Bled Strategic Forum international conference – is the leading conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe with this year’s event taking place under the title ‘Solidarity for Global Security‘. Prime Minister Edi Rama participated in the Leaders Panel along with the prime ministers of Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Chairwoman of Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Prime Minister of Croatia. The panel was moderated by internationally renowned TV presenter and talk show host, Ali Aslan.

* * *

-Mr. Prime Minister Rama, last time you were on the stage here, you said a beautiful phrase when I asked how you feel about the future of the Western Balkans; You said, “Now that it is actually a figure attached to your aspirations, is that the much needed impetus, the much needed motivation now for you to fulfil your part too?

Prime Minister Edi Rama: With this panel like a bus, I am tragically more optimistic, although it is certainly better than a Russian plane. First of all, I would like to very much thank both Robert and Charles, not because I know how to be a good diplomat, since I am not one, but because of the very warm welcome we were extended and the very open and, I would say, heartfelt conversation we had last evening. And I am very happy to see a leader, a politician to speak the same during a dinner as well as in front of a forum. So, thank you Charles! Finally, thank you, because it was really amazing.

It is really the moment to say that if what Charles said was to be materialized in terms of some real steps forward –not that I believe that in 2030 we will be European Union member states –  but at least it would be materialized regarding some of the steps and that would be really very good. This is because while we speak about converging with the EU, everyone has to understand that the gap of EU contribution per capita towards the Western Balkan states is about 130 plus euros for six of us here and more than 4000 euros for just two of us here.

This somehow has to be understood and has to be addressed through some concrete steps, considering that this hasn’t to be all or nothing from the moment that these countries have embarked on the EU path to the moment they become full-fledged members, there should be things in between, not just principles and values and lessons, which are absolutely very necessary, not just reforms and criticism, which are again absolutely necessary, but also some more consistent support, and I am not saying simply financially, but also in terms of the access of our countries to the common market  and in terms of a much more open space also for our enterprises, because – and I will conclude here – everyone has to bear in mind that what is happening all these years in these countries, is that on one hand through the Berlin Process we talk about connectivity and infrastructure, about projects and ways how to finance them, and, on the other hand, guess who is building the infrastructure; Americans, Chinese, Arabs, countries that, as far as I know, have not to fulfil the Acquis, but this should be somehow taken into consideration. The last point is that I have always thought that working pro bono against the West for 50 years Enver Hoxha made us the most pro-American and most pro-European people. So, it could take 50 years after the fall of communism for us to become unconditionally pro-West, pro-American and pro-European people. So, we have 20 more years of Euro-optimism and we hope you Charles would deliver on your promise until then.

-To do a final quick round Prime Minister Rama, there is a legend here in Bled, which goes that if you ring the wishing bell in the church tower here in Bled island at least three times, your wish actually might come true. I don’t know whether we have time to actually do it, but hypothetically speaking, moving forward for your own country, what is the wish, particularly in regards to the country’s future in Europe?

Prime Minister Edi Rama: First of all, I have to say that I am not impatient at all. I used to be impatient a lot before starting the accession negotiations, because it looked very neurotic that they were telling us “we want to marry you, but we don’t want to talk to you.” Now that we are talking, we are fine. We will do our job, because after all, the whole process of the accession talks is not to convince the EU that we are fit for it, but it is about transforming our own country and the accession talks, in my view, are the most incredible know-how transfer on the state building process that human kind has ever created. Going back to the wish, and I don’t want to sound dark here, but I was listening to Dritan, from the sun and fund country, who mentioned something which is very important. There is a very natural and it should certainly be like that, because the EU is about values, it is about very important principles and this is what has created it as a peace project based on the very values and principles that Ukraine should be seen like a possible EU member state. But I wish this won’t be to the detriment of the Western Balkans. Otherwise, as Dritan was talking, I was looking and thinking: “Who should attack who in this panel in order to get the EU membership faster together with Ukraine. And Bulgaria can easily attack North Macedonia, Croatia can easily attack Serbia, Serbia can easily attack Kosovo, Bosnia can attack itself, no problem. In the meantime, I am sure that if we ask the Greeks to do us the favour, they will be pleased to attack us. Montenegro can play dead in the beach and this way can be all ready to join the train with Ukraine. This is the way I would sum it up.

I know it sounds a bit dark, but after this Russian plane story we are bit puzzled. Concluding in a different note, I don’t know whether you have heard about Russia having this negotiation to unify the time, since they have a nine-hour difference from one part of the country to the other, and the Russian Prime Minister went to Putin and told him: Mr. President, we have a problem. I sent my family on holidays and I called them to tell them “good night”, but it was already morning and they were on the beach. I called Olaf Scholz to congratulate him on his anniversary, but he said that his anniversary is tomorrow. I called Xi Jinping to wish him a Happy New Year, but I was told it is still the old year there. And Putin replies: Yes, it has happened to me too. I called Prigozhin to say “sorry for your loss”, but the plane had to take off yet.

-I am removing this last one from the wish list.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: I think it is better the list than talking about normalization here, because everyone would become abnormal at the end of this.

/u.sh/

The Slovenian Embassy in Tirana said in a press release on Thursday that this year’s international conference will be held under the title ‘Solidarity for Global Security‘ and the most globally inclusive and representative forum yet.

The Bled Strategic Forum is an intergovernmental project of the Republic of Slovenia, organised by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Centre for European Future.

“In light of the recent catastrophic floods in Slovenia, this year’s conference will also feature fundraising activities for flood relief,” the Embassy said.

Under the motto “The Bled Strategic Forum stands in solidarity”, the Bled Strategic Forum 2023 will be held in solidarity with the people affected by the devastating floods.

“The content of this year’s Bled Strategic Forum raises the issue of the role of solidarity in ensuring security. Crises have become an everyday occurrence. They affect many countries, regions and continents, and are indiscriminate. Global fragmentation of the international community further threatens our efforts to ensure the security of countries, regions and individuals. The 18th Bled Strategic Forum will therefore aim to establish a common ground on how we, as a global community, can build a sustainable, resilient and socially just world based on solidarity,” the Slovenian Embassy said.

/m.m/u.sh/

Prime Minister Rama took part in the leaders’ panel entitled The Rule of Power or the Power of Rules? The Future of the EU and the multilateral system of international relations – with European leaders, including the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, etc., set to discuss the topic, under the moderation of Ali Aslan, a German journalist and TV show host.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the Forum via a video link.

German TV host Ali Aslan:

Hello Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to the panel. We will speak about energy in detail and about the energy security in particular, because it is something that is in everyone’s mind. Prime Minister Edi Rama, as a NATO country – you have been part of NATO since 2009 – this is a conflict that obviously you are following very closely. Let me also get your immediate reaction after the speech by President Zelenskyy

Prime Minister Edi Rama: First of all, I would like to thank you for the invitation, because I think Bled is one of the few Forums that is hosted not for the organizers, but for its invitees. It is definitely good to be invited in Bled and that’s why I would like to thank you.

I believe there is a big risk that the threshold of pain of Russians, for many reasons, is much higher. Ukrainians are really tough guys and this is a good thing. The good news is that Ukraine didn’t lose the war and Russia didn’t win the war for the time being, but it is very difficult to predict for the rest. I very much hope and pray that rich guys and countries will keep going and won’t give up.

As for Albania, we are ready with our heart to support Ukraine all the way. We have done everything we could do and we will keep doing so. However, I am not sure whether Albania can help Ukraine to win the war.

Host Ali Aslan: On that optimistic note, I was obviously going back to the war at hand and the sanctions that are something that Europe has shown perhaps unexpected resolve and very unified on that front, despite some few cracks here and there. Albania, though not an EU member yet, is still fully aligned with the EU sanctions on Russia and therefore the country might have become a target itself. Most recently, two Russians and one Ukrainian have been arrested after trying to enter a military plant in Albania. Are you on the forefront? You said Albania itself cannot change much, yet the country plays its small part, but clearly you have become a hostile entity from the Kremlin’s point of view.

PM Edi Rama: We have aligned with the EU foreign policies since day one and we continue to be aligned. We are usually very loyal to the empires. We were the last to leave the Ottoman Empire; even after the Ottomans themselves abandoned it. We were the last to leave the Stalinist empire after the Soviets had  abandoned it 30 years earlier and we will definitely be the last ones to leave the Western empire. No doubt about it.

Host Ali Aslan: How do you explain this loyalty?

PM Edi Rama: Because we are good people and because in our code or in the earliest constitutions of the Albanians, the given word is equal to the honour. So, if you don’t honour your promise or your given word, you don’t have an honour anymore. We have given this word to the European Union and to the United States, which in turn have already given us so many words that they sometimes keep them and sometimes they don’t. However, they have a different sense of honour, since we are “too primitive” in that.

To answer your question, I would say that first of all Albania is very unique in that respect too. We don’t have gas. We don’t need the Russian gas. That’s why we can go very tough on Russia, because we simply don’t need their gas. Our history was as such that we don’t have any kind of feeling about Russia anymore. This is because, in the Soviet empire, Stalin’s monument was torn down or let’s say graciously taken out in the sixties, but we had Stalin’s monument even after the Berlin Wall fell.

And we are 100% renewable, by the way. I mean, our electricity generation is almost 100% hydro-based, which is a very good thing indeed, when God certainly is in good mood and he cries, but which is terrible when God is laughing all the time, because dry seasons means electricity imports and imports mean that we are affected by the energy market prices.

On the other hand, by not having increased the electricity price by a single dime, we have succeeded in maintaining the lowest inflation in the region to date.

It sounds great, when you consider it technically, but of course it is not good when you see it in the Albanian way , because it should be always better and there is no doubt about that.

The problem I see is how much –because it is not about… you mentioned Scholz, but I was not talking about Chancellor Scholz, when I referred to Germany , because Scholz is the leader and in terms of the leadership in the European Union the response has been very clear, very strong, very tough.

Host Ali Aslan: Are you talking about the public?

PM Rama:  I am talking about the public. Because the difference between Scholz and Putin is that the public cannot oust Putin, but the public can definitely oust Shchoz. So, the coalition of democracies fighting an autocracy, where there is no room even to transmit a truthful information, while here the Russian propaganda, despite some measures already in place, can flow all the way and the debate between different parties whether to send weapons or not has started, but it makes it quite a vulnerable situation. When the big crisis hit, the ones in the biggest trouble are the rich and not the poor ones. This is because the poor have a much stronger sense of resilience.

I see the Balkans being completely fair and loyal and standing behind Ukraine all the way. I don’t know what will happen with the rest.

I paid very much attention to what President Pahor said, as he always has the capacity to touch upon the right points. I don’t believe that what is happening would make Europe accelerate the accession process. I think this is not going to happen, although I would really welcome it. This won’t happen for geopolitical reasons, but I hope and I wish that the European Union will be much more open to build a much more inclusive space when it comes to facing dramas. Because they can’t tell us: “Align with the EU foreign policy, be tough on Russia, but on the other hand you won’t get any help to cope with the consequences, like the EU members get.” They cannot do any more,  I hope for their own sake and for their own honour, what they actually did during the pandemic, as I already said.

We were there powerlessly watching on the sidelines, while the vaccines were being sent all over Europe. We have relatives everywhere; as you already know that we are small countries, but we are everywhere, and they didn’t even offer us some vaccine doses for our nurses and doctors. What happened? We ran towards the third actors.   In every speech, they say: “Let’s help the Balkans be with us instead of being penetrated by third actors –whatever you call it –  but when it came to the vaccines, Serbs ran to China and to Russia, we ran to Turkey and we would have had many more lives lost if it was not for the President Erdogan. So, this is the reality. I very much hope that Europe has learned its own lesson and I hope that the public opinion will still allow Europe to go all the way.

Host Ali Aslan: We talked a lot about Ukraine, but I want to end, which is actually not a contradiction, but an expansion on what the Prime Minister commented on Europe and the future enlargement. We already talked about the fact that the war in Ukraine has perhaps accelerated the desire for green transition and it also seems to have accelerated the urgency on the part of Brussels to bring in new members and not lose them in this fight for influence to Russia, to Moscow. We have seen Albania after a very long time of waiting has finally started its accession talks. We have also seen Moldova being granted the candidate status together with Ukraine in June. Has Europe found a new purpose, if we are to consider the pre-war bickering about migration, even on the stage last year when we were facing the euro crisis and a lot of hurt feelings? Has the war in Ukraine brought the continent and the EU together? Has it perhaps served as a wakeup call?

There are certainly many countries knocking on the door, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Serbia. Obviously all these countries are trying to join the European Union at a time when Russia, for certain, but China as well are seeking to expand the sphere of their influence in this part of the world. You have been an EU candidate since 2014 and it is 2022 now and finally the EU is saying “let’s start the accession talks.” First of all, it is good news, I would assume, it is great news for your country, but in the meantime I am hearing in your answers a bitter sweet tone.

PM Edi Rama: First of all I would have to correct the Prime Minister. I am not a sceptical. I am tragically optimistic. If you would reflect upon this, I would say it is a category that you should consider that we are part of this region.  Because being sceptical means cynical. Tragically pessimistic means suicidal. Tragically optimistic, yes it means tragic, yet… we have to dance. That’s the thing. And this is the spirit of the Balkans. Balkans are tragically optimistic. People who don’t know how life is in the Balkans they feel sorry for us. But, we feel sorry about them, because although our lives have been ruined many times, we are never boring or bored. This being said, I would like to say that no, it is not true that the war accelerated the “Yes” to Albania’s EU accession negotiations. It is not true.

The war didn’t accelerate anything, because the “yes” for Albania was there, if Bulgaria was not to be there. But Bulgaria is of course there and it kidnapped both North Macedonia and Albania long time ago, while all other member states were ready to say “Yes” to Albania after eight years. But being tragically optimistic means it is tragic to wait for eight years, but still it is a reason to be optimistic, because it could be worse as it North Macedonia had to wait for 17 years. So it can always be worse and it is better that you smile and keep moving forward. In other words it was Bulgaria and not Russia to trigger this. It was a NATO country that kidnapped two other NATO members while the war started. May be, this war made our European friends, especially President Emanuel Macron, who was also the President of  the European Council at that period of time, be keener to lose his sleep. I was meeting him hours ahead of the NATO summit to convince Bulgarians that this was not a good idea and it was resolved.

Being tragically optimistic is also connected with another fact; we don’t have another choice. We face but only one choice. And when people say to me “thank you for being so patient,” I reply: “Do we have any other choice?” No, we don’t! Therefore, we have to be patient and we have to keep going forward, for one reason alone, the European Union is the only the safe place to be for countries like us. I believe also for countries like them, namely France, Germany and everyone else. But because they have been spoiled for a while, not having any more wars and getting constantly rich and richer, they certainly have their trouble with that notion. There is only one destination, the European Union, be it in this century. And as I earlier said, we will definitely go there it nobody would be there anymore. We will go there!

Host Ali Aslan: You have only 30 seconds, Mr. Prime Minister, though this might be a challenge. You have proven here that you are not a conventional politician. You said it yourself that you are an artist and you have certainly opened personal professional exhibitions throughout the world. If you had depict Europe in one painting, what it would look like?

Slovenian PM Robert Golob: I would give him my 30 seconds.

PM Edi Rama: I am funnier, because I am not in the EU yet.

Host Ali Aslan: How Europe would look like in one painting?

PM Edi Rama: I wouldn’t dare draw it, but I would say that for the time being Europe looks like Lucio Fontana’s “Hole”, but let’s see what is in there inside the hole, to see whether in the hole there is a strong light or we are in a deep hole.

/u.sh/

Asked about sanctions on Russia as he attended the 17th Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, PM Rama affirmed “Albania is aligned with the EU foreign policy and we will continue to be aligned.”

“We are usually very loyal to the empires. We were the last to leave the Ottoman Empire; even after the Ottomans themselves abandoned it. We were the last to leave the Stalinist empire after the Soviets had  abandoned it 30 years earlier and we will definitely be the last ones to leave the Western empire,” he said.

Asked how he would explain such a loyalty, PM Rama said: “Because we are good people and because in our code or in the earliest constitutions of the Albanians, the given word is equal to the honour. So, if you don’t honour your promise or your given word, you don’t have an honour anymore. We have given this word to the European Union and to the United States, which in turn have already given us so many words that they sometimes keep them and sometimes they don’t. However, they have a different sense of honour, since we are “too primitive” in that.”

“First of all, Albania is unique in this respect too. . We don’t have gas. We don’t need the Russian gas. That’s why we can go very tough on Russia, because we simply don’t need their gas. Our history was as such that we don’t have any kind of feeling about Russia anymore. This is because, in the Soviet empire, Stalin’s monument was torn down or let’s say graciously taken out in the sixties, but we had Stalin’s monument even after the Berlin Wall fell. And we are 100% renewable, by the way. I mean, our electricity generation is almost 100% hydro-based, which is a very good thing indeed, when God certainly is in good mood and he cries, but which is terrible when God is laughing all the time, because dry seasons means electricity imports and imports mean that we are affected by the energy market prices.  However, we have made a decision, I think a brave one, but time will show whether it was bravery or a stupidity, not to alter the electricity price for the households and the small business consumers. We are fully covering the gap, which is certainly quite painful for the Albanian state budget, but we are still committed to maintaining this trend.  On the other hand, by not having increased the electricity price by a single dime, we have succeeded in maintaining the lowest inflation in the region to date,” the government head noted.

“. It sounds great, when you consider it technically, but of course it is not good when you see it in the Albanian way , because it should be always better and there is no doubt about that. The problem I see is how much –because it is not about… you mentioned Scholz, but I was not talking about Chancellor Scholz, when I referred to Germany , because Scholz is the leader and in terms of the leadership in the European Union the response has been very clear, very strong, very tough. I am talking about the public. Because the difference between Scholz and Putin is that the public cannot oust Putin, but the public can definitely oust Shchoz.

So democracies, the coalition of democracies fighting an autocracy, where there is no room even to transmit a truthful information, while here the Russian propaganda, despite some measures already in place, can flow all the way and the debate between different parties whether to send weapons or not has started, but it makes it quite a vulnerable situation,” he added

“When the big crisis hit, the ones in the biggest trouble are the rich and not the poor ones. This is because the poor have a much stronger sense of resilience. I see the Balkans being completely fair and loyal and standing behind Ukraine all the way,” he stated.

“What I am actually trying to say is that our state budget is modest and the fact that Albania is not an EU member, we cannot claim what actually the Slovenian Prime Minister said. He stated that the European Union or the European Commission should cover for that. We can’t ask for that.  I simply hope the European Union is not going to make the shameful mistake it did during the pandemic, when the bloc thought just about ways how to distribute vaccines among themselves, forgetting completely about us. And one shouldn’t forget that we lie right at the heart of Europe, geographically, although we are not yet part of the EU. So, we are E although we are not yet U. We are surrounded by the EU borders and EU, in my knowledge – and I am not very knowledgeable as I am just an artist and artists shouldn’t be definitely knowledgeable because they wouldn’t have inspiration anymore and inspiration is mostly fuelled by ignorance, I guess – so I think that the European Union is the first ever geographical reality in the history of maps with one outside border and with an inside border.  And guess what, within its inside borders it is “E” for Europe and not “U” for EU. But it is us there.And we are a trouble. Everyone knows we are trouble. But at the same time, when we are in trouble, we are basically on our own. I hope this would change,” he went on saying.

“I paid very much attention to what President Pahor said, as he always has the capacity to touch upon the right points. I don’t believe that what is happening would make Europe accelerate the accession process. I think this is not going to happen, although I would really welcome it. This won’t happen for geopolitical reasons, but I hope and I wish that the European Union will be much more open to build a much more inclusive space when it comes to facing dramas. Because they can’t tell us: “Align with the EU foreign policy, be tough on Russia, but on the other hand you won’t get any help to cope with the consequences, like the EU members get. They cannot do any more,  I hope for their own sake and for their own honour, what they actually did during the pandemic, as I already said. We were there powerlessly watching on the sidelines, while the vaccines were being sent all over Europe. We have relatives everywhere; as you already know that we are small countries, but we are everywhere, and they didn’t even offer us some vaccine doses for our nurses and doctors. What happened? We ran towards the third actors. In every speech, they say: “Let’s help the Balkans be with us instead of being penetrated by third actors –whatever you call it –  but when it came to the vaccines, Serbs ran to China and to Russia, we ran to Turkey and we would have had many more lives lost if it was not for the President Erdogan. So, this is the reality. I very much hope that Europe has learned its own lesson and I hope that the public opinion will still allow Europe to go all the way,” PM Rama concluded.

/r.e/u.sh/

In his remarks at the leaders’ panel of the 17th Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, the government head said he is not sceptical about the progress of the accession talks after the EU decided last month to formally launch the accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

“I am tragically optimistic. If you would reflect upon this, I would say it is a category that you should consider that we are part of this region.  Because being sceptical means cynical. Tragically pessimistic means suicidal. Tragically optimistic, yes it means tragic, yet… we have to dance. That’s the thing. And this is the spirit of the Balkans. Balkans is tragically optimistic. People who don’t know how life is in the Balkans they feel sorry for us. But, we feel sorry about them, because although our lives have been ruined many times, we are never boring or bored,” he said.

“ I would like to say that no, it is not true that the war accelerated the “Yes” to Albania’s EU accession negotiations. It is not true. The war didn’t accelerate anything, because the “yes” for Albania was there, if Bulgaria was not to be there. But Bulgaria is of course there and it kidnapped both North Macedonia and Albania long time ago, while all other member states were ready to say “Yes” to Albania after eight years. But being tragically optimistic means it is tragic to wait for eight years, but still it is a reason to be optimistic, because it could be worse as it North Macedonia had to wait for 17 years. So it can always be worse and it is better that you smile and keep moving forward. In other words it was Bulgaria and not Russia to trigger this. It was a NATO country that kidnapped two other NATO members while the war started. May be, this war made our European friends, especially President Emanuel Macron, who was also the President of  the European Council at that period of time, be keener to lose his sleep. I was meeting him hours ahead of the NATO summit to convince Bulgarians that this was not a good idea,” PM Rama added.

“Being tragically optimistic is also connected with another fact; we don’t have another choice. We face but only one choice. And when people say to me “thank you for being so patient,” I reply: “Do we have any other choice?” No, we don’t! Therefore, we have to be patient and we have to keep going forward, for one reason alone, the European Union is the only the safe place to be for countries like us. I believe also for countries like them, namely France, Germany and everyone else. But because they have been spoiled for a while, not having any more wars and getting constantly rich and richer, they certainly have their trouble with that notion. There is only one destination, the European Union, be it in this century. And as I earlier said, we will definitely go there it nobody would be there anymore. We will go there!” he concluded.

/j.p/u.sh/

“Albania is ready and committed to supporting Ukraine all the way,” the government head stated in his remarks at the leaders panel of the 17th Bled Strategic Forum, entitled The Rule of Power or the Power of Rules?

“If you were to talk about fatigue, it would have probably been wise for you to invite the representatives of other countries to attend this Forum, because I think the richer the country, the higher the risk of being fatigued,” PM Rama said.

“So, instead of Croatia, you should have had invited Germany. Instead of Iceland – although they are rich, but they have a lot of ice and they don’t get fatigued that fast, instead of Albania you should have had invited Italy. Slovenia had definitely to be here, because it is the host country. So, we have to talk about others, because I don’t think that the danger of fatigue is imminent in Albania, nor in Croatia or in Slovenia. This is because we have experienced war in our lifetime and we know what it is about. Iceland have never been through a war and will never see one, because nobody would bother of going there,” PM Rama said.

“I believe there is a big risk that the threshold of pain of Russians, for many reasons, is much higher. Ukrainians are really tough guys and this is a good thing,” he added.

“The good news is that Ukraine didn’t lose the war and Russia didn’t win the war for the time being, but it is very difficult to predict for the rest. I very much hope and pray that rich guys and countries will keep going and won’t give up. However, taking notice of the bills and taking notice of the outcry raised by them, I don’t know what,” he said.

“This is the older part of the European Union, which haven’t gone through a war, except for the Netflix black and white documentaries and therefore I am not pretty sure what this club of countries have learned from history and what are they told based on the historical facts, is enough confronted to the gas and energy bills,” the Premier said.

“I just read today   that the daily increase for the Italian households spending for food products is estimated five euros.  And Italians are quite a tragic country when it comes to confronting the eating, drinking challenge and being somehow deprived of their own “dolce vita” (sweet life). So, how much of the public opinion in the rich countries would be able to sacrifice in the long run? I am making this question, because it doesn’t seem to be a short war,” he added.

“As for Albania, we are ready with our heart to support Ukraine all the way. We have done everything we could do and we will keep doing so. However, I am not sure whether Albania can help Ukraine to win the war.  I doubt about it,” PM Rama concluded.

1 of 5

/j.p/r.e/u.sh/

Bled Strategic Forum is a project of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. It is organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Centre for European Perspective.

The Forum takes place annually at the end of the summer, each year under a different title that guides the content of the discussions, as an inclusive platform, gathering participants from various fields with diverse knowledge, leading and prominent personalities of politics, diplomacy, economy, private and public sector and academia, who come together to discuss main challenges of the 21^st century.

The purpose of the Forum is to gather participants from various fields with diverse knowledge and encourage them to exchange views and seek innovative solutions to contemporary and future political, security, strategic and developmental challenges.

Prime Minister Rama is set to take part in the leaders’ panel entitled The Rule of Power or the Power of Rules? The Future of the EU and the multilateral system of international relations – with European leaders, including the President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, etc., set to discuss the topic, under the moderation of Ali Aslan, a German journalist and TV show host.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Forum via a video link.

1 of 5

/u.sh/