The College of Europe, a post-graduate institute of European studies, established its new campus in Tirana, Albania, on the day of the Summit of the Berlin Process leaders on Monday.
The College of Europe, with its main campus in Bruges, opened its first campus outside the European Union’s borders, not only taking the challenge of internalization of the Albanian universities to a whole new level and opening up a fresh horizon for the education of the Albanian young people and not only, but also providing the opportunity for a more in-depth study on the European Union itself and the country’s path towards full accession to the 27-member bloc.
The newly-established Tirana branch of the College of Europe has been housed in the recently-transformed Tirana’s iconic Pyramid building. The office was inaugurated today in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama, President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, the European Council President Charles Michel, Rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini, as well as other Berlin Process leaders who attended Tirana Summit
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Would anyone had ever imagined that a day would come for this very Pyramid building, designed and constructed for a completely different purpose at its time, be so graciously conquered today by the most hated enemies of the man for whom this Pyramid was built. Nobody!
But, on the other hand, who would have ever imagined that just at the end of last year, the EU would so rapidly walk the talk and deliver? And here we are in less than a year.
The European Commission President proposed that the applications for the College of Europe Tirana branch be launched a day ago. And it is just a day later, today that we open the branch office and students will start attending their degree programs at the College of Europe in Tirana next year. It is really happening and it is just amazing.
However, on the other hand, I would like to share with the story I was told at a meeting with the former prime minister of a former Eastern bloc country, now an EU member state. When I asked him how it is like to live as part of the EU? And he answered: “You know what? Thousands of people in my country – and I mean not only foreigners but also my citizens – follow and monitor us step by step to find out what we do on behalf of the EU. This is crazy?”
I told him that we are launching the College of Europe. “Oh God! So you will be training the very people who will come hot on the heels of you to check constantly how things are being done?” “Yes” – I admitted. “Trust me” – he said. “It is like a transparent KGB. You can’t play with them as they would catch you. However, they differ from the KGB since they don’t torture physically, but they can torment you with their smile,” he said.
I said: “Yes, I am aware of that, since I know someone called Mark Rutte who taught me how to graciously and elegantly turn down a request by smiling. But, yes it is an uphill pathway full of lessons and I have to knowhow is a blessing for all our countries. It is a benediction, because it is a profound source of expertise on how to build the institutions and , after all, it is the institutions that make the difference. After all, our past has been defined by many, many bad things that were the result of institutions. Not only that, but even some institutions were built, they were actually built not properly and that’s why building the democratic institutions is something you can’t deliver on unless there is no EU to teach you how to do that. The knowhow is the most incredible gift that the EU can provide us and other countries like us.
We complain. And we even yell sometimes. Yes it is true. There are certain moments when we contemplate giving up, because it is not easy at all, it is painful, yet it is the only way. And I would like to wholeheartedly thank each and everyone attending this ceremony and all of those who have accompanied us throughout this long path and who are here today, saying something essential, something incredibly important for us in the Balkans to learn about. It is not necessary for us to agree on everything so that we can lead a good life. After all, the life quality is not determined on how much we agree with each other, but on how we don’t disagree. Disagreeing in a gracious way is something, but disagreeing violently is something else. It is a completely different world!
One of the lessons we have learned from the EU is agreeing to disagree on certain issues and moving forward with many other issues and always finding a way forward. It sounds these are very simple things, but one can learn all these things only by being in this great company of the EU and with people who embody the EU.
I would like to very sincerely and wholeheartedly thank Ursula, Charles, Mark and everyone else from the EU present here, because your physical presence, spending this whole day with us in Tirana is truly a gift. It is a gift that we Albanians hold dear and highly value, because we were isolated from the world over the centuries and were never granted the opportunity to choose who we would like to be with. The party we have sided with has always imposed on us and it was for the very first time when we were free to choose. And it was an excellent choice and an indisputable merit of the Albanian people that their first, best and permanent choice is the EU. So we are with you, no matter what you do, Mark, we will be with you and we will never stop loving you.
Thank you!
