Today, Prime Minister Edi Rama is in Pristina, where he took part in the joint session of the Parliaments of Albania and Kosovo. The session was co-chaired by the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, and the Speaker of the Parliament of Albania, Elisa Spiropali. The joint plenary also featured speeches by the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and the leaders of the parliamentary groups from both Parliaments.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Honorable Joint Assembly of Albania and Kosovo,
As one year is coming to a close and another is about to begin, it has been just over ten years since I had the honor of addressing this hall from this podium as the newly elected Prime Minister of Albania. Ten years may be a short time in the life of a nation, but they are a long time in the life of an individual.
Nonetheless, this decade has been a turning point for us, on the other side of the mountains, in Albania. Ten years of profound transformation, marked by great sacrifices and challenges, including the pain of natural disasters, from floods to a devastating earthquake and a global pandemic. Yet, when I witness today the amazement of our friends and the increasing number of visitors, who are in awe of Albania’s transformation over these years, I tell myself that without a doubt, all the struggles, sacrifices, and obstacles along the way have been worth it. These efforts, reforms, and the comprehensive changes we have made are what have finally turned Albania into the European country it could not become for so many years. When you think about the mountains that have gradually faded into the mist of our history, you cannot help but wake up early every morning, striving to accelerate the pace of progress and reach the summit, where the great house of a united Europe awaits. It is there that the children of Albania—and later Kosovo—will no longer be held hostage by our shared tragic past.
Not long ago, NATO’s assessment mission visited Tirana to evaluate whether our candidacy for the 2027 Summit met the infrastructure and logistical requirements. This global event brings thousands of people together in one place, with nearly 1,000 people attending just for the President of the United States. The impressions from the mission were extraordinary, almost unimaginable, considering all that has been built over the past decade. Today, we look forward with confidence, knowing that at next year’s Summit in The Hague, Albania will be officially announced as the host country for NATO’s 2027 Summit.
2027 is also the year of a historic goal, outlined in our joint strategic plan with the European Commission, to conclude the EU membership negotiations and open the way for the two-year ratification process in the parliaments of member states, which will vote on Albania’s accession to the European Union as a full member in 2030. This, too, is an unimaginable ascent to a summit that, just 10 years ago, was out of sight, when Albania was seen as a half-black, half-grey sheep, which no one took seriously beyond its borders.
Next year, on May 16, Tirana will host the European Political Community Summit, where we will welcome the leaders of the 700 million citizens of Europe’s democratic space, from London to Ankara, from Kyiv to Lisbon, from Helsinki to Pristina, and all the way to Baku and Yerevan. Thus, Albania will once again be at the center of a crucial moment in European political life. What fills me with energy, confidence, and inspiration is the fact that we are no longer the background figures in international community photos. We are now active and respected members, with a role that is both mindful of our country’s modest size and weight in the broader European political arena, and at the same time, critical and defining for our region, which today, more than ever, holds a special significance for the Europe of tomorrow.
Dear compatriots and citizens of Albania, here beyond our mountains,
Exactly twenty years ago, in 2004, the president, whose absence was increasingly felt in the political life of the Albanians, Ibrahim Rugova, said something that still resonates today, reminding us, and I quote:
“The shared goals of Kosovo and Albania are integration into the EU, into NATO, and permanent friendship with the USA. We say with full conviction that Albanians today are on the path of progress, they are the most dynamic people in this part of Europe and the world, and they have a historic chance to join the great European family with their values.”
These seemingly simple words are, in fact, everything we need to keep our eyes on the historic objective of final unification with the great European family for both of our nations. They remind us that this historic opportunity can only be successfully seized if we stand together, like a true warrior, with many comrades by our side.
As Albania continues to move forward with swift and unstoppable steps on its path to joining Europe, imagine how much prouder we would make all Albanians everywhere, and how much greater value we would give to the name of the Albanian and the strength of Albinism, wherever Albanians live, if we were walking this journey side by side with Kosovo. Imagine if Kosovo also shone on the international stage, dancing to the rhythm of this new era for Albanians, alongside those who fought for its freedom and blessed its independence. Imagine if, at the table of the Balkan nations, we stood together at the forefront, as a dynamic symbol and embodiment of European values in a region where, we are the only nation that speaks a language as ancient as the very origins of the West.
My deepest, most passionate wish, which words cannot fully express, is that we should not be one country negotiating EU membership while the other remains on the European Union’s sanctions list—an absurdity, which, by the way, has become a complete contradiction. Together with the president, at the EU Summit just two days ago, we firmly insisted that these sanctions be lifted, ensuring that all the EU funds blocked by those measures will not be wasted. However, we must be united, peace-loving and peacekeeping, to convince even the most skeptical EU members about the absurdity of their reservations on recognizing Kosovo as a sovereign state. In their eyes, the responsibility for the failure of the European dialogue on normalization should fall squarely on Serbia, and under no circumstances should any blame be placed on Kosovo.
We want the Republic of Kosovo to be recognized as soon as possible by all the European countries that still hesitate to accept the irreversible, unchangeable reality of its independence, including Serbia, which Kosovo defeated 25 years ago. There is no longer any reason to link its European future to Serbia in any way.
We are determined to help Kosovo achieve the simple yet beautiful historic goal set by Ibrahim Rugova with everything we have at our disposal. However, our resources cannot compare to those of our strategic friends and allies, and their frustration with Kosovo prevents us from doing all we wish and could do, especially at a time when all the stars have aligned in favor of the Albanians, for our historic opportunity as a people to unite, through our two nations, with Europe.
Allow me to repeat here today the message from Kosovo’s greatest friend, to whom a monument was erected in the heart of Pristina—President Bill Clinton. He asked me to tell all friends in Kosovo that time does not bring the historic chance forever—it brings it to be seized, and we must not let it slip away, but instead turn it into a historic achievement while we still have it in our hands.
I have no doubt that the citizens and political forces of this young state, though still in its infancy, but already well-seasoned in the struggle for freedom and independence. This is the same path we are successfully following in Albania, where we have even turned the most stubborn skeptics into reliable supporters of our climb toward the summit of the historic goal of EU membership.
Allow me to share my firmly held opinion at this point in our journey, where I have seen much and learned even more through my relations with our friends, allies, and even those who oppose us. At this critical juncture of its European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Kosovo must suspend the bilateral dialogue with Serbia and the normalization of relations with its northern neighbor indefinitely. Instead, Kosovo should aim for this through bilateral dialogue with the European Union, severing the nationalist reciprocity with Serbia and establishing the European reciprocity with the EU.
In other words, Kosovo can, in a very short time, provide the European Union and NATO with undeniable proof of its commitment and its rightful place in the United Europe and NATO, by unilaterally fulfilling all the conditions for normalizing relations with Serbia—not for Serbia’s sake, but for the sake of its martyrs, its children, and for the ultimate goal of our national unity within the family of European nations, with Brussels as our common capital.
There is no reason for the European Union or the United States to attempt to convince Kosovo of its inherent connection to both the United States and the European Union, just as there is no reason for Kosovo to wait for Serbia’s actions before taking its own steps toward the EU and NATO. Kosovo brought Serbia to its knees 25 years ago, and 25 years later, it must leave Serbia behind.
This is not intended as a lesson for Kosovo, but rather as a fraternal and constructive opinion on how the experiences of one country’s integration can serve as guidance for the other. The aim is to avoid historical setbacks, as today our shared national destiny is firmly in our hands, with our reach extending from Mitrovica to Konispol.
“We will travel together, all of us, or we will not travel at all. Without the representatives of the Kosovo Liberation Army, we will not depart—today, tomorrow, or ever. This is the belief of us all. Only together,” said Professor Rexhep Qosja, one of the members of the delegation, just before the entire group, alongside the freedom fighters, a representation of millions of Albanian hearts, with unwavering faith, embarked on the final hours of the last century’s journey. This journey forever changed the course toward the present, ensuring that the new century for the Albanian people began with a sense of purpose and dignity.
I brought back this paragraph from my speech here ten years ago because I am still struck by the relevance of those lines from a spiritual leader, with no power other than the power of words, which Rexhep Qosja spoke during those critical moments of decision-making for Kosovo and the Albanian nation. But where are the representatives of the KLA today, whom Rexhep Qosja insisted must be part of that historic journey?
Without Hashim Thaçi and his companions, who traveled together with Ibrahim Rugova, Rexhep Qosja, and others, to meet the new history of the Albanians on this side of the mountains, we cannot know what direction Kosovo’s fate would have taken as we entered this century. But what we do know for certain is that those crucial moments of decision would not have unfolded as they did, and perhaps today would resemble the past more than the future, without the Kosovo Liberation Army led by Hashim Thaçi.
But today, as we stand here, in the Parliament where Kosovo’s independence was declared and signed by Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, they remain held hostage, now for nearly five years, in the cells of an international justice system that has repeatedly disappointed those who expected it to uphold the virtues of justice in a rule-of-law state.
I have never questioned, nor will I question today, the right of that Special Court to carry out the task entrusted to it by the decisions made in this chamber—where Hashim himself raised his hand to establish it. However, what I cannot do is come to Pristina, take the floor, and then swallow my words in silence before you, in the absence of Hashim, Kadri, Jakup, and Rexhep, while a deep and perfectly reasonable doubt tightens in my chest. Unfortunately, it seems that this process is legally flawed, and that its norms and standards fall below the levels of justice upheld by the very democratic countries that finance this court.
Moreover, I cannot remain silent without expressing my astonishment that, in this hall, no initiative has ever been taken—through a resolution supported by all political forces, at least the Albanian parties—to ask the countries financing this court to address the serious concerns over its standards, and to call for the establishment of a verification mission to look into these concerns.
The court is independent, but its standards should not be above scrutiny. While the widespread concern may turn out to be unfounded, if it proves valid, it would be a grave matter—not only for those four individuals, or for the Republic of Kosovo, but for the very integrity of international justice. This Republic, through its representatives in this chamber, entrusted the court with the judgment of the history that led to the establishment of Kosovo, in good faith. Therefore, in my view, this process cannot be allowed to continue in silence, driven by motives ranging from the noblest to the most political, enabling what could be a grave injustice to unfold.
That being said, I want all of you here and those listening to know that if the Kosovo Assembly ever takes the initiative to address all the countries funding the Special Court, raising the reasonable concerns about the erosion of democratic standards in the trial against Hashim Thaçi, Jakup Krasniqi, Kadri Veseli, and Rexhep Selimi, and if it is requested that such an initiative be joined by the Assembly of Albania, I can only speak for my own political force. The Socialist Party would, without hesitation, fully support introducing the same resolution passed by the Kosovo Assembly in the Albanian Parliament.
Dear Presidents of the two Parliaments,
The citizens of Kosovo are now at a crucial moment, where they are evaluating the political forces that have entered the democratic race, seeking their votes to govern Kosovo for the next four years. Therefore, I am confident that this hall, and everyone listening to me, will understand why I did not speak today specifically about the good work we have done together with the Government of Kosovo, based on the foundations built through cooperation with previous governments, and as a continuation of the good work that started in the early years of our governance in Albania. It was during this time that we elevated intergovernmental cooperation with Kosovo to a completely new level, far beyond the folkloric realm it once occupied.
I would like to express my deep appreciation for the cooperation between the representative bodies of our two countries and thank all the deputies from both sides who have worked to strengthen parliamentary cooperation.
Thanks to their efforts, a solid foundation has been established over these past years, and this cooperation still holds great potential to be fully realized.
I thank you all for your attention. I wish you all the very best and wholeheartedly hope that the coming year will be extraordinary in terms of goodness and success for all our people, here and beyond the mountains.
Thank you very much!
