Students demand his resignation; Rama: The state will not surrender, and if I leave, the road to the EU will be cut off

Prime Minister Edi Rama addressed the students’ demand for his resignation, which they have described as non-negotiable, during a live broadcast on social media. He stressed that his departure from office would, in his view, halt Albania’s EU accession negotiations.

Rama said the state would not surrender in the face of this turmoil, and urged Albanians to think about the choice between the protesters’ demands and continuing the integration process.

“This is not about my power. I have nothing left to prove to myself. Not arrogantly, but proudly, I make only the trips that are necessary; I no longer even want to travel for the sake of power. Wealth? What can I say? It is pointless to talk about that. My power is not at stake, but the negotiating table. Albanians need to think clearly: do they want this or the EU?

Some will say: Why did you leave, and why shouldn’t we go to the EU? I am not saying you are incapable of taking Albania into the EU. You are envious, incapable, envious, because you cannot defeat me in elections, with words, and now you have resorted to stones. You started with water bottles and eggs and ended up throwing stones.

Let’s say they are that capable: the negotiations have a timetable. The window is open now, and the timetable requires us to give and take every day. There is a flight to Brussels and back every day. This will be interrupted if I leave and that neo-Ballist, or neo-Communist, or senile fool comes in; it will take them a long time.

The state will not surrender in the face of this. A state that surrenders in the face of this will not recover for years and years,” Rama said.