By Genc Pollo
On the Commissioner’s satisfaction
The statement by Mrs. Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, that the general elections in Albania this May were free and fair, but we welcome suggestions for their improvement” rightly caused surprise, irritation and was condemned by the opposition. Fortunately, on Monday the European Commission spokesperson corrected the Commissioner by referring to the Albania progress report: that text mentions almost all the violations noted in the international observers’ report – violations that no one in his/her right mind could associate with the “free and fair” notion.
Another statement by Mrs. Kos – equally problematic and revealing – attracted less attention. When asked about the Balluku case, the Commissioner told A2 CNN that corruption cases exist in Europe too, but what matters is how the judiciary and politicians react. “And I was satisfied to hear today that the government will follow the decisions from the judiciary.” Mrs. Kos gave this interview after the joint press conference with Prime Minister Rama, where the latter had expressed his dissatisfaction and disagreement with the Special Court (GJKKO) ruling that suspended Minister Balluku from office, while also announcing that he would ask the Constitutional Court to annul that already-effective decision.
Anyone who knows the context – and we must assume Mrs. Kos knows it too – would conclude that the Commissioner was satisfied that:
a) a minister remains in office three weeks after being indicted and after shocking excerpts from the criminal file became public;
b) the minister does not resign even when the court suspends her from office for several reasons, including the risk of repeated offending with tender rigging (!);
c) the Prime Minister did not dismiss the minister either three weeks ago (when she was indicted) nor three days ago (when she was suspended), but instead turned himself into her personal lawyer and appealed to the Constitutional Court with the interesting and revealing argument that the suspension, among other things, would hurt Albania’s membership talks with the EU.
With goodwill we could say that Marta Kos’s statement was a spontaneous, clumsy formulation; we could also add, not sarcastically, that Rama’s compliance with the court suspension of the minister could be seen as progress compared to his outright ignoring of the Constitutional Court two years earlier in the Xhaçka MP case. But goodwill has limits when other Commission officials not only fail to correct the Commissioner’s “slip”, but actually deepen it. Thus the EU Ambassador in Albania, in an interview with Top Channel one week before Mrs. Kos’s visit, when asked about the Balluku case, responded only by mentioning the “presumption of innocence”. For him, as for his boss, the principles of governmental accountability, good governance and public trust were apparently not worth mentioning in the case of Minister Balluku and Prime Minister Rama. Nor did they see fit to express concrete support for the magistrates handling this file – magistrates who, unlike those on the Veliaj case, have faced not only verbal attacks but personal and family physical threats.
Mrs. Kos and the Ambassador could have used the standard phrases from progress reports such as “Fighting corruption is a major condition for Albania on its EU path” or “Albania must do more on prevention of corruption, not only prosecution”. They could simply have said they do not comment on individual cases and left it there. Unfortunately, they gave the impression of standing on the side of Balluku-staying-in-office and of Rama-advocating-Balluku. Such behaviour reinforces the perception that, for a certain category of Brussels bureaucrats, values like rule of law and democracy are mere variables in the equations of opportunism.
How Satisfaction Turned into Dissatisfaction in Serbia
“We call on the most senior EU officials to refrain from making unfounded statements praising the reform process in Serbia”
Anyone who thinks the above perception of Brussels bureaucrats is just exaggerated coffee-shop talk by ill-informed Albanians should know that the sentence prior to this is not from Serbian opposition figures or local critics of the Vučić regime. It opens point 27 of the European Parliament resolution on Serbia, adopted almost by consensus (only 16 % of votes against) just one month ago (22 October 2025).
In fact, Vučić’s opponents had long agreed that the approach of the European Commission and some member states towards Serbia had sent of European values such as democracy and the rule of law down the drain. They only debated the possible motives: Brussels’ need for a success story? The need for stability? Purchases of French weapons? Lithium offers to Germany or the ammunition supply to Ukraine?
This approach reached its peak with the visit of Commission President von der Leyen to Belgrade in October 2024, when, in the presence of her host Vučić, she lavished praise on the government’s reforms, calling the country “one of the most advanced candidates for EU membership”.
One year later, the EU’s stance towards Serbia has changed radically: after early criticism from the European Parliament, now the Commission and several member states also speak with pathos about democratic backsliding. In Serbia the debate continues about the motives for this U-turn: some see at play a delayed reaction to Vučić’s non-European geopolitical orientation; others point to the massive and continuing student protests. What is certain is that the multi-year praise heaped on Vučić by European officials has now been thrown in the rubbish bin.
Will the similarly lavish praise directed at Edi Rama suffer the same fate, and if so, when? The exact answer is not easy, although nothing can be ruled out. What the “Serbia turnaround” teaches us is that beautiful words, especially when they clash with reality, melt like ice in the sun.
Better to Stand in the Cold and Rain on the Boulevard than Be a Contented Pig at Home
Rama’s defence of Balluku is truly unprecedented. Until now, Rama has always made sure that accused officials, from Tahiri, Koka, Çyrbja to Beqja resigned from their ministerial or parliamentary posts.
With Balluku, since 30 October he has been unwilling or unable to neither dismiss her nor to force her to resign which obliged the court to suspend the minister. Subsequently, Rama is defending Balluku by suing the Special Court at the Constitutional Court, thereby trampling on his own previous stance that accused socialist officials must hire private lawyers. Anyone can conclude that for the first time Rama is showing himself powerless, even blackmailed.
There is little point in talking about the unfortunate silence of the parliamentary cattle of the Socialist Party. But the most important conclusion is that what is happening is an unprecedented insult to society and to the public. More useful than clever analyses offering all kinds of objective or fanciful explanations are reactions that reject the “new normal” of Balluku still in office or the indicted minister with the Prime Minister as her lawyer.
The opposition in Parliament should immediately table a motion of debate on the Balluku case and table it again every time the mini-Ballukus in parliament vote it down.
As with Veliaj, periodic protest rallies must be held in front of the Prime Minister’s office. It does not matter whether the big opposition party gathers 400 people and the small one only 14. What matters is that it proves that citizens with dignity still exist.
Genc Pollo
Former Minister and MP
30 November 2025
The post The Value of the Words of a Few Officials vs. the Actions of many Citizens appeared first on Tirana Times.
