"Albania under the EU's scrutiny"/ Zhulali criticizes the government's approach to diplomacy and international contracts

2026-04-21 19:19:00, Aktualitet CNA

"Albania under the EU's scrutiny"/ Zhulali criticizes the

International relations expert, Ilda Zhulali, has raised concerns regarding the way the Albanian government is developing diplomatic relations and several international agreements, emphasizing that the country is under the surveillance of the European Union as part of the integration process.

Invited to the show "Task Force", Zhulali stated that Prime Minister Edi Rama is pursuing, according to her, a "shadow diplomacy", holding meetings and contacts outside of public attention.

She said that some of the recent moves of the head of government, including visits abroad, have not been accompanied by sufficient transparency. According to her, this is related to the fact that Albania is in the focus of the European Union for transparency standards and fulfillment of the conditions of membership negotiations.

Zhulali also raised concerns about contracts that, in her opinion, are related to countries outside the Euro-Atlantic area and that do not guarantee full transparency and competition. She stressed that the EU has clear requirements that sensitive systems, especially those related to personal data and security, be managed by companies within the EU or NATO.

The expert also stated that Albania has been warned earlier about such types of agreements and that these could pose a problem in the EU integration process.

According to her, as the country aims for membership in the European Union in the coming years, the priority should be to accelerate integration reforms and increase transparency in international and economic relations.

"If we look at his movements, he has held several meetings in almost complete darkness, so as not to give him too much space and media coverage, because he will not be exposed, for example in Spain, as a man who is involved in a global anti-Trump movement. Or this time in Dubai, which is clearly a business deal, but apparently the prime minister does not want to be exposed here, because Albania is currently under the scrutiny of the European Union due to membership negotiations and one of the concerns that the European Union has consistently raised are these strange contracts that Albania makes with third countries, as the EU calls it, where there is no transparency, no competition and even more so because it is about systems that have an increased sensitivity, because they deal with the personal data of citizens, it is about security, and it is preferable for the EU to manage these systems by companies that are within the European space, even within the NATO space.

Even from the slap, not simply from the radar, because the moment it is exposed, then the demand for an account begins, then it continues with penalties, because Albania has been warned several times for contracts of this type, and even has the obligation to give up on them at the moment of membership. So, Edi Rama instead of now, while he claims that the main goal is Albania in the EU in 2030, he will have to put all the engines to use for this process, but he does not stop from these business affairs that he does with special, selected clients that go outside the spectrum of the EU and NATO as well.

It has remained in the numbered place, for the moment, and he knows that in fact there is no open path as it is today, for example, Montenegro. About which there is talk that it is in the process of preparing the accession treaty. Which will have to be discussed between the member states and Montenegro, after the referendum that Iceland will hold on August 29 of this year, and it seems that we will have a joint package Iceland, Montenegro, but Albania will not be part of this package. And now Edi Rama, knowing that he has not caught this train of rapid EU membership, once flirted with Vu?i? to put pressure on the European Union. Now he pretends to be interested in the EU, but in fact he continues his business with other countries and dubious contracts, "said Zhulali. / CNA