Wire flash
PoliticsKushner-backed luxury resort in Albania tests EU accession environmental standards
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
A €1.6 billion luxury resort project in a protected coastal area of Albania, backed by Jared Kushner and linked to the Trump family, has sparked 45 days of protests and become a major test for Albania's EU accession. The 'Flamingo Revolution' protests forced a construction pause and drew concern from EU institutions. The European Parliament's environment committee debated how Albania can join the EU amid ongoing environmental scandals. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is accused of altering a 2024 ban on construction in protected areas to allow luxury hotels as an exception. The EU Commission has urged Tirana to revoke the controversial law and a related strategic investments law before meeting EU environmental benchmarks. Only a full environmental impact assessment has been promised, with no action on illegal building.
Source report
Concerns over Albania's rule-of-law standards are being exposed through the so-called 'Flamingo Revolution' affair — extending far beyond nature conservation — to the extent that the country's EU accession may be at risk.
Protests Continue for 45 Days
For 45 consecutive days, protests have continued on Albania's streets in response to a Trump family-backed €1.6 billion resort in a protected environmental area. The strength of the movement has led to a pause in construction and drawn expressions of concern from European institutions, as the Balkan nation faces its final hurdles for EU membership.
EU Accession Talks Progress Amid Environmental Concerns
The EU finalised talks for three more of its 33 negotiating chapters with Albania during an accession conference on Tuesday (14 July), covering science and research, education and culture, and external relations. Meanwhile, the European Parliament's committee on the environment debated how Albanian membership can proceed with conservation issues still unresolved.
Greek-Albanian MEP Fredis Beleris, from the majority European People's Party, criticised the newly-closed chapters, stating they send the wrong message about Europe's priorities regarding Albania.
"The message that we're sending out to the society is that we're doing the government a favour, we're doing prime minister Edi Rama a favour, and that the Albanian people don't matter," he told the environment committee on Tuesday.
Controversial Legal Changes
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, a socialist leader, has been accused of altering a ban on construction in protected areas in 2024, which allowed luxury hotels as the sole exception.
The European Commission has urged Tirana to revoke the controversial law, along with one on strategic investments that has enabled development projects like this to proceed, before the benchmarks of EU environmental policies can be met.
Limited Action So Far
The only concrete measure announced by the Commission was a full environmental impact assessment, to be delivered by the Albanian government. No action has been taken regarding illegal construction.
Source
EUobserverWestern
Part of this Story
Albanian protests and probe over Kushner-linked luxury resort project