Prime Minister Edi Rama today was invited to attend the Berlin Global Dialogue, Germany, Berlin Global Dialogue is a new international forum that unites leaders from business and policy to find joint solutions for a global economy in transition.
The Premier joined the session entitled Geopolitical Role of the Western Balkans, a discussion focusing on the critical role of the Western Balkans in strengthening Europe’s geopolitical and economic future.
Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the session together with Katherina Reiche, a prominent political figure in Germany, currently serving as the CEO of the largest regional energy and infrastructure provider.
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-We are very happy and very honoured to have Edi Rama from Albania this morning. Allow me to say two words for him.
He is a very unusual politician, I would say. He is an artist, something very important for him, so arts and diplomacy. He has been playing in Albania’s basketball national team, a fact that can also explain his appearance at some extent. He has also been serving as Mayor of Tirana for ten years and now as a very successful Prime Minister of Albania in his third term in office.
Albania is doing really well, also economically, and we will ask some questions along those lines. He has also gone viral, if I might say that, with some very recent appearances, namely the historic appearance at the United Nations Security Council, which was one of those issues, the a joke about Putin too. We are very happy to have the Prime Minister of Albania this morning.
First question for Prime Minister Rama: Yesterday we had Olaf Scholz here, we had Charles Michel here; we had a lot of talks about the geopolitics and a multi-polar world that, as you know is something which is dear to Chancellor Scholz. He says it is not a question whether we have a multi-polar world rather than a bipolar world, but it is about how to frame it and how to work with it. Albania, in the whole Balkan region of course geopolitically is very important. It is important not only economically, but also geopolitically. How do you see that situation from the Balkan or Albania’s point of view? What does Albania bring to the table? What do the Balkan bring to the table also with a view towards joining the European Union in geopolitical terms?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: First of all, thank you very much for this honour. Answering to your question, I have to say after the Russian invasion even the most sceptics or the more distant from the Western Balkans has realized its geopolitical importance. The Western Balkans have a very heavy history, yet it lies in the heart of Europe and therefore there is no other feasible solution and option other than fully getting the Western Balkans in the European Union. The complexity of the Western Balkans today is another reason why the process EU accession of the Western Balkans should be accelerated.
Albania is 100% oriented towards the Euro-Atlantic community, but there is a Russian presence and influence in other countries and this has to be fully mitigated by fully integrating the Western Balkans in the EU.
As to the question what Albania can bring to the European Union, I think we are too small to make the difference, but we are consistent enough in many ways and I think we will be an added value in terms of peace and security.
-The point about EU accession you already alluded to that right now, and Charles Michel delivered an important speech and there is a discussion about the timing and the framework, since this is also connected to the EU enlargement debate, which you certainly know quite well on the European side, discussions taking place among the head of states on even the Treaty change and how to think about the finances and the governance of the EU. How do you see that? Are you for a specific date?
PM Edi Rama: As I already said, the Russian aggression has opened the eyes of everyone and has made everyone much more aware of the importance of the accession process of the Western Balkans to the EU. But, in the meantime, the European Union has its own problems that we are fully aware of, a very difficult decision-making process, the very serious influence of the domestic politics on the member states that sometimes also defines the position of the European Union, because full consensus is needed for every step.
We have made absolute peace with our mind that we have to do our homework, because in the end of the day I believe that the European Union is the most amazing source of the knowhow in state building.
– I think that energy is a big issue for you. I know you are 100% carbon neutral in electricity production thanks to the hydro sources and it is a big part of your economic package. I think that the state aid point is an important one. This is actually the idea before you join the EU that is asking from you, if I understood it correctly, to police yourself before you join the bloc. What do you think about this?
PM Edi Rama: No, this is important. Starting from that point, we have seen that not only EU, but every international organization, when engaging with Albania or countries like us that are so eager to join in, they ask from us not just their maximum, but sometimes also a maximum they can reach themselves.
When it comes to the energy sector, yes we are blessed, on one side, because we have been a very isolated country and this was a curse, but what we inherited is practically an environment allowing us to generate 100% renewable energy. But it has its downside, because when it doesn’t rain, we suffer lack of water to generate electricity and we are then forced to address to the international marked and purchase electricity at very high price rates. That’s why we have embarked on a very thorough diversification process and we are building the two largest photovoltaic parks in the region. Likewise, we will be using a part of the liquefied natural gas and coupled with some transformations we are delivering on this aspect. Albania has yet to secure gas as a source of its economy, because, as I already said, we were totally disconnected from the rest of the world. We were totally on our own, but we now plan to become net energy exporter by 2030.
A potential big discovery we are waiting now from the last test by company SHELL for a huge onshore oil and gas resource would further add to the potential for the country to be transformed into an energy ub in the Western Balkans.
-Thank you so much Edi Rama.
