When the “Choo Choo” Train Never Came
It begins with a scene that now feels almost surreal. In 2022, during a staged media event in Tirana, Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku enthusiastically explained to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the Tirana–Durrës–Rinas railway would be completed by 2024. Von der Leyen, visibly surprised, turned to the Albanian Prime Minister and joked that soon he would be able to board the train straight from the airport and “choo choo choo “ ride directly into Tirana. Two years have passed. There is no train. There is no railway. Construction has not begun. And the Prime Minister has certainly not travelled from Rinas to Tirana by rail, not because he dislikes the sound “choo choo choo” but simply because the entire claim was an invention. The minister misled Brussels, and for a long time it appeared that the European Union would simply smile politely and move on.
But the belief that Brussels can be endlessly deceived is proving false. The EU may tolerate political exaggerations and public-relations theatrics, but when lies are followed by theft, especially the theft of EU taxpayers’ money, the reaction becomes firm and unmistakable. That moment has now arrived with the European Commission’s decision to freeze all digital-agenda funding for Albania, a direct consequence of the AKSHI scandal in which the country’s central digital governance agency was revealed to be penetrated or influenced by a criminal structure.
This is not an isolated episode. It follows the earlier blocking of IPARD agricultural funds after widespread manipulation, fraud, and the systematic misuse of grant mechanisms. In both cases, the pattern is the same: the Albanian government promotes ambitious, glossy projects designed to impress Brussels and global media, while beneath the surface key institutions are captured by networks of corruption and criminality. The EU, once confronted with evidence, freezes funding not as punishment but as protection, protection of its financial interests and protection of its institutional credibility.
The AKSHI case has struck at the heart of Albania’s digital transformation narrative. Ironically, Albania had promoted its digital agenda so enthusiastically that it even appointed an AI as minister., the famous “Diella”. The move attracted global headlines and positioned Albania as a futuristic success story in the Western Balkans. But behind the spectacle, the governing structures overseeing this digital transformation remained deeply vulnerable, non-transparent, and, as recent investigations reveal, compromised. The same officials who presented Albania as a digital pioneer allegedly continued the old habit of using public institutions as extraction mechanisms.
The European Commission’s freeze affects the €44 million Digital Economy and Society Program for 2024–2027, including €30 million in direct EU financing. It also places at risk components of the Western Balkans Investment Framework, such as the €44.3 million project to equip 600 schools with smart laboratories. Portions of the €6-billion EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, of which digitalization is a flagship, are also likely to be tied to the outcome of this investigation. Brussels has already informed the Albanian government that financing is suspended indefinitely.
The implications go far beyond the loss of funds. Brussels’ message is clear: Albania cannot progress in EU accession while its institutions remain vulnerable to criminal infiltration and systemic corruption. Digital governance is not a cosmetic accessory; it is central to rule of law, procurement integrity, cyber-security, and public administration reform. The freeze signals a collapse of trust at both the technical and political level.
The broader question now is whether this marks a turning point in the EU’s approach to Albania. For years, Brussels tolerated inflated promises and politically convenient narratives in the hope that reforms would eventually take root. But tolerance ends where criminal capture begins. When the digital infrastructure of a candidate country is controlled or influenced by illicit groups, the EU’s strategic and financial exposure becomes unacceptable.
The Albanian government faces a credibility deficit it can no longer hide behind futuristic slogans or marketing campaigns. The EU has acted not out of political hostility but because the gap between what Albania claims and what EU auditors discover has become too wide to ignore. The freeze of digital-agenda funds is not merely a financial interruption; it is a warning shot.
And it carries a final, unmistakable message: You can mislead Brussels with promises, but you cannot steal its money without consequences. (Diplomaticus)
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