Rama on accession: I don’t believe 2027 will welcome us with veto power! Gradual integration, the only way to enter the EU!

Prime Minister Edi Rama has expressed skepticism about how Albania’s integration process into the European Union can proceed, stating that the accession of Western Balkan countries requires changes within the EU itself.

Speaking at the “Intelligence on the World, Europe and Italy” Forum, during the “Agenda for Europe” panel, Rama said he does not believe Albania will be welcomed into the European Union with veto power, also referring to 2027.

“Honestly, I do not believe there will ever be a place for us in the EU if something does not change within the EU. So, I do not believe that 2027 will happily welcome us with our veto power. I do not believe it,” Rama declared.

Rama argued that, for this reason, gradual integration is the most likely way, in his view, for Western Balkan countries to join the EU.

“That is why I believe gradual integration is the only way to bring us into the EU and to start with the real part—the common market, being part of the Europe of universities and exchanges, and all the other very important elements—before we think about the rest,” Rama said.

The prime minister stressed that Albania does not necessarily need veto power to be part of the “EU table,” arguing that a European Union with many new countries holding veto power would be more difficult to make functional.

Edi Rama: Honestly, I do not believe there will ever be a place for us in the EU if something does not change within the EU. So, I do not believe that 2027 will happily welcome us with our veto power. I do not believe it. I do not believe that some capitals will have the ability to tell the public, “We will take Albania with its veto power.”

That is why I believe gradual integration is the only way to bring us into the EU and to start with the real part—the common market, being part of the Europe of universities and exchanges, and all the other very important elements—before we think about the rest. We do not need veto power to sit around the table.

And, as a European, I am opposed to it. This is the debate with the others in the Balkans. Because they tell me: “Why, Edi, do you say that we do not need veto power? We all need veto power.”

I tell them that, as a European, I do not want you to have veto power, because imagine having seven more fools sitting around that table. It would be better for Europe and for us, and it could happen this way; otherwise, it will not happen.