Student protests in Albania / German outlet DerStandard: Calls for Rama’s resignation!

Violent clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Albania for the second consecutive day during protests against the government and for better study conditions.

Hundreds of people marched through the capital, Tirana, on Wednesday toward the office of Prime Minister Edi Rama and two ministries. The demonstrators, including many students, demanded Rama’s resignation.

Some erected barricades using barriers and threw stones and Molotov cocktails. Police used tear gas and water cannons. Protesters set fire to the Ministry of Education, according to AFP journalists.

Two demonstrators climbed onto a wall at the ministry and threw flamethrowers inside. Shortly afterward, thick black smoke poured from a window. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

Protesters also targeted the Ministry of Finance. They broke down the doors, and some briefly entered the building. After being pushed back by police, the protesters moved toward the prime minister’s offices, throwing stones at them.

At a bank branch, they smashed windows and set documents on fire. An apparently empty building was also engulfed in flames.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people demanded Rama’s resignation outside the Ministry of Education. Demonstrators attacked Tirana City Hall, set it on fire and damaged other buildings.

According to police, around ten people were arrested. Six police officers, eight demonstrators, three journalists and two passersby sought medical treatment, according to the Ministry of Health.

Police said their officers faced “continuous violence” that day and were attacked by masked individuals with stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails.

A demonstrator faces a line of police officers carrying shields as clashes unfold in Skanderbeg Square in Tirana. In the background, smoke and debris spread across the street beneath a dark night sky.

Anti-government protests have been taking place in Albania since late May. They were triggered by plans for a luxury hotel project in a coastal nature reserve.

The project is linked to US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, and has sparked protests over suspected corruption and a lack of transparency. Students are also complaining about high tuition fees and poor conditions at universities.

The relevant EU delegation

The EU delegation in Tirana expressed concern over the “violent escalation” and called on all sides to calm down. The delegation said reports of excessive police violence against demonstrators and journalists must be investigated immediately. Albania is an EU candidate country; another negotiating chapter was provisionally closed earlier in the week.

Like the other Western Balkan states, Tirana has been seeking EU membership for years. Montenegro is currently furthest along in this process, with its government aiming for EU membership by 2028 (“28 by 28”). Albania is considered the second frontrunner on the path to the European Union and wants to join by 2030.

These two countries, together with Ukraine and Moldova, which became candidate countries only in 2022 following the outbreak of Russia’s war of aggression but want to be admitted as soon as possible, are the most likely candidates for the first “roadmaps.” The four other Western Balkan states besides Montenegro and Albania are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia.