Albanian Prime Minister Calls Promises to Ukraine on EU Accession Unrealistic

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama sharply criticized the current EU enlargement mechanism, stating that if the usual procedure is maintained, the promise to admit Ukraine into the EU will not be fulfilled. At the same time, he did not oppose Ukrainian membership but called for changing the approach to enlargement itself.

Rama said this in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, published on October 2.

According to the Albanian Prime Minister, Ukraine is unlikely to become an EU member if it has to go through the traditional accession path with all the prescribed stages and requirements. It is in this context that Rama called the current promises to Kyiv “lies” and added that European politicians also understand this.

Instead of the multi-year standard procedure, the head of the Albanian government proposes integrating Ukraine into European structures faster, and linking the achievement of full membership to the fulfillment of specific requirements and results.

As reported by Deutschlandfunk, Rama considers it realistic to give Ukraine the opportunity to move toward full membership through a process based on actual progress. At the same time, he warned against formally relaxing criteria solely for geopolitical reasons.

Rama extended this criticism to EU policy toward the Western Balkans as well. In his opinion, the European Union lacks the ability to make quick strategic decisions, and the prolonged stay of countries in the region outside the bloc creates additional risks for Europe.

He called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders to show political determination in EU enlargement comparable to the actions of Chancellor Helmut Kohl after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rama recalled that German unification was not carried out according to the model of today's multi-year membership negotiations with dozens of individual negotiating chapters.

Albania itself has been in the process of European integration for many years. The country applied for EU membership in 2009 and received candidate status in 2014. Rama has repeatedly advocated for accelerating EU enlargement and a more flexible model of integration for candidate states.

The Albanian Prime Minister's statement does not mean a change in Tirana's position regarding support for Ukraine. Albania officially supports Ukraine's EU membership, condemns Russian aggression, and provides Ukraine with political, military, and humanitarian assistance.

In the long-term cooperation agreement signed by Ukraine and Albania, the parties explicitly secured mutual support on the path to the EU. Tirana has also confirmed that it considers Ukraine's future tied to Euro-Atlantic integration.

Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in June 2022. Formal membership negotiations began in June 2024, and in 2026 the EU moved to opening negotiating clusters. The European Commission emphasizes that further progress depends on Ukraine fulfilling membership criteria and necessary reforms.

Thus, Rama's position is not about denying Ukraine a European perspective, but rather that the current enlargement model, in his opinion, is too slow and does not correspond to today's geopolitical conditions.