Rama: “Balkan endangered by nationalism. Unification with Kosovo if EU path closed”

18/04/2017 00:00

The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, declared that the unification of
Albania with Kosovo will not be excluded, if the EU perspective of
Balkan fades.

In an interview for Politico, Rama warned that Europe may face a nightmare if the Balkan countries go crazy, after they are left out of the EU enlargement agenda.

“The region would turn into a gray zone, in which other actors have more influence than the European Union”, Rama said.

When asked if there would be an unilateral unification with Kosovo, Rama said: “No, because the only way to preserve peace in Balkan is to keep the EU path open, to keep the perspective clear, to keep emotions about the EU positive”.

“No one would like to turn on themselves and look for smaller unions, everyone would like to unite in the big union. But if there’s no hope, no perspective, no space, then, of course, little unions may happen,” Rama added.

The Albanian Prime Minister underlined that unification with Kosovo is not his desire, but a possible alternative to the closed door of the European Union.

Rama warned that stopping accession could destabilize Europe, saying that “the alternative would be a nightmare for the people and countries of Europe.”

“There is a lack of understanding, or a lack of vision in not realizing that this region needs Europe, but Europe needs this region too, for a secure and safe Europe,” he said.

“How can the union be secure and safe if the Balkans will go crazy? How can the European Union allow at its own heart a gray zone where other actors can have a larger influence than the EU itself? This is nonsense in terms of security, in terms of safety,” Rama added.

The Prime Minister says that war is not the first scenario for Balkan, but preserving peace depends on international factors, such as the EU and USA.

“In Europe you have a generation that has not seen war. In Balkan we have seen them, we know what it means”, the Prime Minister said.

As for critics from Macedonian officials, Rama emphasized that he only helped Albanian political leaders of Macedonia to meet with each other, and never interfered with Macedonia’s internal affairs.

“There is a myth created in Skopje for political purposes that the Albanian parties are following a platform that is written in Tirana. This is a lie, a myth created by the politics of very bad taste,” he said.

He added that the Albanians of Macedonia have all the rights to demand equality to their Macedonian brothers.

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