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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Türkiye poses no danger to the Western Balkans, rejecting suggestions that Ankara’s influence in the region should be viewed in the same way as Russia’s and describing Türkiye’s involvement as supportive of stability and peace.
In an interview with German newspaper Welt, Rama was asked whether outside powers were seeking to pull the Western Balkans away from Europe, with the interviewer pointing to Chinese investment and political influence sought by Russia and Türkiye.
“These are cliches. Yes, Russia is a real threat. But China doesn’t have an imperial agenda, it’s simply a reality that everyone has to deal with,” Rama said.
“Türkiye poses no danger in the Western Balkans. I see only fraternal interference for stability and peace,” he added.
Rama’s remarks came as he argued that the Western Balkans remain a geographic and political gap inside Europe that the European Union should move more decisively to close through enlargement.
“Look at the map. Usually, countries have only one border that runs around it. Europe has a second one inside,” Rama said. “The hole in the middle of Europe is the Western Balkans. There are forces that are trying to cut us off.”
While dismissing concerns over Türkiye’s role, Rama drew a sharp distinction with Moscow, describing Russia as a security threat to the region.
He also rejected placing China in the same category, saying Beijing had no “imperial agenda” and was instead a global reality that countries had to deal with.
Asked about concerns over Chinese lending, including Montenegro’s experience with major Chinese-financed infrastructure projects, Rama said Albania’s relationship with Beijing was more distant.
Rama said Albania’s historical experience with China during the Cultural Revolution had shaped that relationship, while adding that he admired aspects of China’s development today, including what he described as its diligence and meritocracy.
Europe, he argued, should not isolate itself but regain the ability to maintain relations with different global actors.
Rama expanded on his warning over leaving the Western Balkans outside the EU, comparing the region to an exposed part of the European body vulnerable to destabilizing influences.
“An open stomach is bad. There is a risk of infections, wounds, decay,” Rama said.
“Russia is a virus. Radical Islam is a virus. Crime is a virus.”
Rama compared the seven countries seeking EU membership to children waiting outside a family home, arguing that bringing candidate countries closer to the bloc would reduce the risks created by leaving them in a prolonged geopolitical waiting room.
He said prospective members did not necessarily have to receive all the rights of full membership immediately but should be brought inside the European framework rather than left exposed to competing influences.
Despite criticizing the EU’s ability to make bold and strategic decisions, Rama described the bloc as “the most visionary political project ever designed,” saying it had allowed generations of Europeans to grow up without war.
Asked about German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s support for accelerating integration, including gradually giving candidate countries access to the EU single market, Rama called on Europe to show the political courage demonstrated by former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl during German reunification.
“When the Wall came down in 1989, Kohl didn’t say to the East Germans: Now you have 33 negotiation chapters, then we’ll take you in,” Rama said.
“Instead, he said: We are all in the same boat.”
Rama said Albania’s population of about 2.5 million meant the country was too small to transform the EU on its own, but argued that its accession could nevertheless help strengthen Europe by closing what he called the bloc’s internal geographic gap.
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Albania is seeking to advance its EU accession process alongside other Western Balkan candidates.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that Albania’s goal of joining the European Union is “in sight,” describing the country as one of the front-runners in the bloc’s accession process.
“You in Albania have been working hard to turn Albania’s European dream into reality,” von der Leyen told Rama at a joint news conference in Tirana.
“I think the goal is in sight. Albania is among the front-runners in our accession process,” she said, pointing to “remarkable progress” over the past year.
Von der Leyen noted that Albania had opened the final clusters of negotiating chapters and in July closed its first three chapters, including external relations.
She said Albania is now “100%” aligned with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, adding that the two sides “see the world with the same eyes.”
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