If Rama wants to be the prime minister who ushers Albania into the European Union, he must first be the leader who makes Albania worth staying in. It means building a country where the EU passport is a gateway — not an escape route. Because freedom is not just the ability to leave. It is also the right to hope, to build and to thrive — right where you are.
By ANDI BALLA
In his recent campaigning for the upcoming May parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Edi Rama has come up with an interesting pitch: freedom through departure.
Rama is promising that Albania’s EU membership will happen by 2030. And of all the benefits that come with membership, he is heavily focusing on the one thing he knows sells well with Albanian voters: the EU passport.
“The Albanian European passport… means freedom to stay anywhere within the EU borders,” he said on March 29. “With an EU passport, young men and women from Albania will be able to study in EU universities with the same rights and fees as equal European students. Any Albanian will be able to work anywhere — from Stockholm to Lisbon, from Madrid to Warsaw — enjoying the same rights as Swedes in Sweden and the Spanish in Spain.”
It’s an appealing message, especially for the tens of thousands of Albanians planning to emigrate every year. But for a country already buckling under the weight of depopulation, it also borders on the surreal. Why is the leader of an aging, shrinking country openly campaigning on a promise that will make it easier for its youth to leave?
Albania’s demographic decline is no longer a future concern — it is an unfolding reality. The population has dropped by more than 14 percent since 2011. Birth rates have sunk to a record low of 1.21 children per woman, and nearly every village, town and city feels the vacuum of emigration. The working-age population has been hit hardest, shrinking by 18.3 percent in just over a decade. Healthcare facilities lack proper staff, schools are closing and labor shortages now extend to every sector. Meanwhile, remittances from abroad are more of a lifeline than an investment.
The promise of an EU passport, then, resonates deeply with the public, not because they see a future in Albania, but because they don’t.
For years, Albania’s EU accession process appeared stalled in endless technocratic loops. Many lost faith. Now, with geopolitical shifts like Russia’s war in Ukraine reshaping Europe’s priorities, that process has accelerated. In a recent roundtable, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos identified Albania and Montenegro as “front-runners” in the Western Balkans and suggested negotiations could be concluded by the end of 2027.
But this vision comes with caveats. The reality is far more complex and less certain.
Opinions among EU member states differ widely over how quickly and under what conditions each Western Balkan country should be admitted. Crucially, under the EU’s unanimity rule, it takes only one member state to stall or block the process entirely. France and the Netherlands, for instance, have consistently emphasized the need for deep internal EU reforms before any enlargement.
Thus, even if Albania were to conclude negotiations by 2027 — a highly ambitious scenario — there is no guarantee that membership will follow by 2030. Enlargement has become as much about timing and trust as it is about technical readiness.
Moreover, Rama’s message is that he needs a supermajority, essentially consolidating whatever little power is left in checks and balances in parliamentary life in order for Albanians to get that European passport. And that only he can deliver it. But the truth is, he can’t guarantee that. No leader can. And campaigning on a promise that may not materialize, while ignoring the pressing need to make Albania livable in the meantime, is a dangerous wager.
Worse still, the underlying message appears to be: Albania’s greatest offering to its youth is a pathway out. The government has introduced no comprehensive measures to retain its population. Incentives for young families are paltry. Housing is increasingly unaffordable, wages remain low and trust in public institutions is scarce. When asked in a 2023 survey where they wanted their children to grow up, a majority of Albanian parents chose “abroad”.
At the same time, Albania lacks what it desperately needs: a vibrant democracy. Under Rama’s leadership, the Socialist Party has consolidated power to an extent not seen in the post-communist era. The SP governs 9 in 10 Albanians at the municipal level and holds a parliamentary majority that, critics warn, is sliding the country into a dominant-party system. Media freedom is in decline, and the electoral system is skewed to favor incumbents, making it almost impossible for new political voices to gain traction.
This erosion of democratic competition — and basically any real competition in many areas of life — from academia to business — further disillusions young voters. It’s no surprise that, offered the chance, they choose to move to wealthier EU states.
To be clear, EU membership should remain a strategic goal. But it must be approached with clarity and humility. Full integration into the EU will open borders — but unless accompanied by structural reforms at home, it will also empty out Albania faster than ever before.
If Rama wants to be the prime minister who ushers Albania into the European Union, he must first be the leader who makes Albania worth staying in. That means investing in healthcare and education, implementing serious anti-corruption reforms, supporting young families with meaningful social policies and reviving democratic institutions. It means building a country where the EU passport is a gateway — not an escape route.
Because freedom is not just the ability to leave. It is also the right to hope, to build and to thrive — right where you are.
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