During his visit to Madrid, Spain, Prime Minister Edi Rama held a press conference before signing the agreement for Albania to host the World Law Congress Albania 2027. The event, which will take place in Tirana, is expected to bring together around 3,000 legal professionals, including judges from supreme courts and judicial systems from many countries around the world.
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Javier Cremades, President of the World Association of Jurists: As you know, he is one of the most successful democratic leaders in Europe, particularly in terms of popular support. He has also led the country toward a well-established framework for the rule of law, with clear separation of powers, a free public opinion, and an independent judiciary. Today, Albania is not just a Western country, but one of the most well-functioning democracies in Europe. They will join the club in 2027, and we will collaborate with the World Association of Jurists — the only global association of jurists representing judges, professors, and lawyers — to support the country, highlight what still needs to be done, if any, and showcase the progress and success of the country’s work by May 2027. Now, I’ll hand it over to the Prime Minister, and you can ask any questions you may have.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you very much my friend, and thank you to everyone here.
It’s a true privilege for myself and my friends to assist in such a beautiful moment where we were received by the King and we were welcomed by the boards of the World Juris Association, and of course we were told so many encouraging words about our struggle to reform justice in Albania and to make Albania a proud member of the European Union where the rule of law is told once and forever.
And yes, I am very grateful to Javier and to his leadership for having not only come but also having seen with his eyes and having gathered all necessary objective information about our very challenging but also so far quite uploaded justice reform.
So I am of course open to the questions but I must say that for Albania to host the World Law Congress is the most encouraging reward for all the efforts and for the achievements but also it’s a very strong sign of trust that comes with the responsibility to do better and to make the case of a country that comes from a very difficult past but through the right alliances, the right partnerships and the right vision can overcome even the worst and the most discouraging past when it comes to building credible institutions and to make sure that rule of law is not just a word in our constitution but is a way of living and a way of being together in a democratic society. And we’ll do everything to be great hosts. We’ll do everything to beat the hospitality of the Dominican Republic and all the other republics before because we lack behind in many things but we pretend the World Cup in hospitality always. We are unbeatable in our hospitality and we have to prove it.
So to everyone here being part or not of this organization and to the journalists I just extend an invitation to come to Albania with a promise that not only you will not regret but you’ll want to come back. And with a promise that whatever you heard about how beautiful the way your grandfathers and grandmothers in Spain used to have to welcome guests and to deal with guests you will find in Albania. So we are not yet as rich as to lose our memory and we want to make the case of being hospitable to everyone. It doesn’t mean that you spend too much but it means that you are much richer than what your bank account can show.
So thank you again and it’s an honor really and we are very much humbled to be here and to represent our country and to be of course shown such respect and such friendship on all levels and to meet a king that is humanly the best you can wish to find in the street.
– What does it mean for Albania to host World Juris Association?
In 2027, we will host several events that would have been unimaginable not 50 years ago, but even a few years ago. Because in 2027, Albania will be hosting not just the World Law Congress, but also the NATO Summit, and also the European finals for the under-21 in football. So these are incredible things that are happening to us, thanks to the work we’ve done.
We were the North Korea of Europe, we were isolated from the West and from the East, pretending to be the only true and real communist country. We had only 5,000 average visitors per year. Last year, we closed with nearly 12 million, and we had to fight. We fought for long years against stigma that somehow followed us as a shadow since we opened up and since we came to Europe.
Stigma that needed us to be criminals, needed us to be kidnappers, needed us to be thieves, and all the rest and it also needed Albania to be a gloomy place where no one should go because it’s dangerous. Now, fortunately, this is mostly over, so everyone who comes to Albania is mesmerized by the hospitality, by the beautiful country, by the security. Albania is one of the most secure countries in Europe. We have the lowest robbery rate in Europe, and it’s not the government that says it, but international organizations. And we are in some fights with the Brits because they have the highest rate of robbery, and they say it’s the Albanians that do it. But, you know, they should check because it must not be true.
And so hosting these events makes us feel part of the same big family of democratic countries, of countries that do it since many, many years. And by the way, I hope that my dear friend and one of the great leaders of today’s Europe, Pedro Santos, will not be against what I’m telling you.
But when we came to Granada, I was expecting to enjoy the top of the Spanish cuisine. No, I’m talking about hospitality, and it was not good food. And I said to Pedro, you know, what is this, you know, catering in Spain? He said, wait for the dinner. But in fact, this is what you get in summits and congresses in the old Europe, where they are tired.
We are a country of Muslims, of Christians, Catholics, Orthodox, but our religion above all religions is hospitality. And in our first written law, it’s very clearly stated, the house of the Albanian belongs to God and the guest. And the guest is God as far as God doesn’t show himself. So whoever knocks at your door is the will of God and for the guest as God, we are the best.
And the Spanish tourists coming to Albania can witness this. Even when it happens, like it happened last summer, that Spain had to play Albania in the Euro and of course, you know, it was quite tough for us. But in all open air events, when the match was being televised, the Albanian fans were not too noisy when they had Spanish fans beside them moreover, at the end, they applauded Spain.
So all Spanish tourists witnessing that, they said, what is this? You know, we never saw a country being beaten and applauding so graciously because, you know, first of all, it’s not a drama to be beaten by Spain. It’s not about you’ll be beaten or not. Or not is about how hard you’ll be bitten. And frankly, you were not bitten too hard. And on the other hand, yeah, it’s who we are, and it’s who we want to be, and it’s a great opportunity to show the world what could be better.
And to be picked for that, and Javier made it very clear, it’s not just about finding a beautiful country. There are other beautiful countries where there is no rule of law. But the Congress will not happen. It’s about always going to a country where the Congress can make a case. And this is a big, big reward for us. It’s a big honor to see Albania praised, and validated, and respected for what we are doing to bring rule of law. And rule of law in a country where everyone is cousin with everyone is not an easy thing.
– The last week, the Italian justice refused, for the third time, to move immigrants from Italy to Albania. I would like to know what is your opinion about that, and why the plan looks like it’s failing?
I have no opinion about that. And the question should be addressed to my sister, Italian sister, the sister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, because for us, being part of this deal is a very simple part. We were asked from Italy to help and when Italy asks, we always help, because our relation is millenary.
We owe to Italy a lot, especially for what Italy has done after the fall of communism, and helping us big time in very dramatic moments. Last but not least, when we had a devastating earthquake, the Italian troops of civil emergency came and they risked their life to save people from the rebels. So we asked this, and we helped as I think every European country, every European nation should help another, or should help each other.
It’s an operation that is 100% under the Italian observation and responsibility. The two centers have extra territoriality, so security, movement, treatment, legal, everything is Italian. So you have to ask the Italian side, not us.
– I’d like to know as well, if you don’t think it’s possible to get an arrangement like this in Spain when Albania joins in the EU?
I’m not sure it would make much sense, because it’s also very much related to the geography. If you have an idea about the geographical position of the two countries, we are, people say divided, but I say united from a sea with Italy and the only thing that makes this deal reasonable is that the immigrants don’t stop to Italy, because if they stop to Italy, they enter European Union, and then a whole set of procedures is triggered, but they stop to Albania and now, how feasible would be that they come from Spain to stop to Albania, I don’t see this, and I don’t think, at the end, that this is the ultimate solution of the European border crisis and of the immigration crisis, because Europe is, so far, I believe, between a rock and a hard place.
On one hand, it has to deal with a lot of illegal immigration and with the very concerning porosity of its own borders. On the other hand, it has to deal with its dramatic demographic decline.
So Europe has to fight immigration, but needs more and more immigrants. So how we solve this, it’s not for me to lecture or to advise anyone, but I believe that, first of all, this is not an issue for the grace of political meat cooking, so who shows more of the muscle against migrants, who is more determined to push back, who is more right, who is more left, who is more this, who is more that, because this is the most dangerous thing we are doing to ourselves in Europe, turning something that has to do with management of borders and management of workforce in a cultural war.
And this can devastate Europe in its soul. So, as far as there is not a common policy on that, beyond left, beyond right, beyond electoral interests, beyond need for, to get more votes and to fuel more fear in the people’s stomach to get the votes, Europe will be in trouble. If Europe will overcome that and will do something much more comprehensive, of course, controlling the borders much more firmly, but also opening up to legal immigration much more, creating a different way to deal with the countries of origin and so on and so further, then it will be a great win for Europe and the future generations. Otherwise, I don’t know, it will be very tough.
– First, thank you, Prime Minister for being here with us. I have two questions. The first one is, are you going to be in the world of Congress in the Dominican Republic? And the second question is, me as a lawyer, Mexican, part of the Board of Trustees of the World Law Foundation, I would like to know, what are you expecting, you from the Board of Trustees and from the people of the audience?
First of all, unfortunately, the Congress in the Dominican Republic is happening a few days before our election day. So I can’t attend personally and physically, maybe through the technology I can participate, but this will be occasion to send someone much better than me in these issues, our State Minister of Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, who also leads our negotiations when it comes to all that is related to the rule of law with the European Union.
And what we expect, first, listen, last evening, we had the honor to be around the table with some distinguished members of the Board and just the chance to connect with so many people that are so much dedicated to the rule of law and to connect with the crew that will come to Albania of jurors of highest level from so many Supreme Courts of academics, it means that we will have the chance to make so many good friends with so big knowledge about this fundamental fight of our society for the next generation that you can’t pay for it even if you have the biggest oil reserve. So this would be a fantastic thing. And because at the end, countries do not differ based on what they have, but based on what they know. So having so much brain related to Albania will be absolutely the biggest investment for generations, I believe, because this organization and this Congress is here to stay.
Countries can have their moments of doubts, countries can have their dark moments of temptations to kind of avoid rule of law, but at the end, there is no doubt that rule of law is what can give to everyone a fair share of opportunity and of security in a free society where everyone wants to do better, everyone wants to win, but no one should win over the shoulders of someone else. It’s not to build a society of winners and losers, but it’s to build a society where everyone can win having its equal share of opportunity and its equal position in front of the law.
So thank you for the questions and thank you for having me.
Thank you.
