At the end of last month, Strik joined citizens protesting in the capital, expressing support for their cause and pledging that their voice would be conveyed to European institutions.

“It is really paradoxical to see that you are the ones defending EU values and rights, while the government is not doing so,” she told the crowd.

She added that she would take to Brussels the message that the Albanian people are ready for membership, but the current executive is not at the same level of readiness.

Strik, a member of the Dutch left-wing green party Progressief Nederland, which aligns with the Greens in the European Parliament, led an investigative visit on the environmental situation in the country that aspires to join the EU within this decade.

In a conversation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), she stressed that failure to preserve nature poses a direct threat to Albania’s European integration process.

She was extremely blunt when commenting on Albania’s 2024 legislation on protected areas, which paves the way for luxury tourism construction in these spaces and which many see as a serious risk to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Asked whether this legal change complies with European Union norms, Strik replied bluntly: “No, it does not.”

According to her, the amendment allowing construction in protected areas conflicts with Community legislation, particularly with the Birds and Habitats Directives. She noted that the European Commission has already warned Tirana about the need to review this law.

The MEP recalled that for this very reason, the European Parliament asked the Albanian government to annul the law and draft a new one that adheres to the bloc’s standards, prohibiting any kind of activity in protected areas until its adoption.

For more than 40 days, Albania has been swept by a wave of anti-government protests that initially erupted against a luxury tourism project planned in the protected area of Zvërnec, in the south of the country, an initiative linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

The protesters demand the repeal of the law on protected areas, as well as the removal of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s cabinet, which they accuse of systematic corruption and lack of transparency.

On June 17, MEPs expressed “deep regret” over two Albanian laws that, in their assessment, place the interests of luxury tourism investors above the preservation of natural landscapes.

According to the European Parliament, the expansion of the 2015 Law on Strategic Investments creates procedural facilitations and reduces environmental scrutiny, risking serious damage to protected areas and other territories of high ecological sensitivity.

The EU legislature also called for the annulment of the 2024 changes to the Law on Protected Areas, which allow large-scale tourism infrastructure and weaken environmental oversight.

These two legal acts are crucial for the luxury development project in the Vjosa-Narta lagoon area on the Albanian coast, led by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has openly defended the initiative.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle published on July 3, Rama said: “We have made changes to the law, but we have not touched its core and our changes do not conflict with European standards and criteria. We will make sure this is verified through the negotiation process.”

However, Strik insists that the legal amendments must be repealed immediately.

“Otherwise, there will be at least very difficult negotiations. If Rama keeps insisting he will not stop the construction projects, then he will face a very big problem with the European Union,” she warned.

“If he is really serious about his ambition for Albania to join the EU as soon as possible, he must repeal this law immediately and ensure that no construction takes place in protected areas,” she concluded.

“I urge you not to stop your resistance”

Rama has promised that Albania will become part of the European Union by 2030, and the country is considered one of the most advanced candidates in the Western Balkans, alongside Montenegro.

Strik said that the citizens she met in Tirana are prepared for membership and called on the government to listen to them.

“I would tell them what I also told the protesters: they show very clearly that they are ready for membership. They are defending the values of the European Union and Rama must listen to them, making sure that he too keeps pace with progress,” she stated.

“My message to them is: ‘Please, continue your resistance, because the cause you are fighting for is very just. Of course, do it peacefully’,” Strik added, describing the constructive atmosphere and the presence of many families at the Tirana protest.

She stressed that the time has come for politicians and the government to take these citizens seriously, because they have a very legitimate claim that Albania belongs to them and they want to secure integration into the EU, but also to protect their nature.

The MEP also criticized the way Rama has treated the protests, as well as his claims that they are misguided or being manipulated by external factors.

“The protesters are getting angrier and angrier, because Rama either remains silent or, even worse, runs smear campaigns against them,” she said.

She also referred to a land ownership dispute that is currently under investigation.

“The protesters rightly demand more transparency on this issue, full cooperation with SPAK in the corruption investigation that is also linked to the Vjosa-Narta landscape, including the airport, and that justice be served,” she added, referring to the new airport built in a protected area of special importance for birds in the Vjosa-Narta lagoon.

The damage has already been partially done

In May, the area where the resort construction is planned was fenced off and clearing work began, causing significant damage before the excavators stopped working on June 4.

According to local experts, the new gravel road and the damage to the forest, which are still visible, pose a threat to the area’s biodiversity.

“We saw the damage caused in this Vjosa-Narta area – a road around seven kilometers long that cuts through the entire protected area and, in the parts designated as nesting habitats for turtles, we also saw wetlands drying up, and so on,” Strik said.

“The European Union cannot take action now, because Albania is not yet a member state, but it can tell it: ‘You must stop this, because otherwise you are not in line with EU standards and, as a result, there will be no progress in accession negotiations’,” she added.

According to her, the EU can warn Albania that by acting in this way, it is violating European Union legislation. Albania cannot claim that these conditions will only apply at the end of next year, because during the negotiations on nature protection and improvement, it is not allowed to worsen the situation.

Asked whether this issue is a test of Albania’s commitment to European values, Strik replied: “Yes, I really see it as a test.”

In conclusion, she stated: “Rama must change course now. He must ensure that a protected area is truly protected and guarantee that corruption at the highest levels is not tolerated in his country.”

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