The European Commission has issued a veiled warning to the Albanian government over a €1.4 billion real-estate project linked to US President Donald Trump’s family, as protests over the plans for an ecologically protected area on the Adriatic coast enter their second week.
Responding to a question by Euronews on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the EU executive urged Albanian authorities to “act without delay” in order to avoid jeopardising the country’s bid to join the EU, which will require it to align with the bloc’s environmental rules.
“Albania should refrain from actions that could undermine the fulfilment of the closing benchmark, in this case Chapter 27, and so we expect the Albanian authorities to act without any delay,” spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said, referring to the chapter of EU accession talks which requires a candidate country to align with environmental rules.
He added that the Commission has “expressed concerns to (Albania’s) Minister of the Environment about the potential shortcomings of the project,” and that the minister had assured Brussels that construction work has been “suspended”.
Yet Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the project, telling Euronews on Friday that resistance to the plans formed part of a “hybrid war” wielded by actors that are “using the sentiments of some well-meaning people about the environment.”
