Berisha at the OSCE Assembly: The drama of my nation, 45% of the population has left in 10 years

The Chairman of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, is participating in the second day of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which is taking place in Porto, Portugal.

At the head of an opposition delegation, Berisha, in his speech before the Assembly this Wednesday, spoke about the drama of Albania's depopulation and the drug-fueled economy.

Considering it a drama of the Albanian nation, Berisha said that 45% of citizens have left Albania during these 10 years, while he finds the real cause of it in the narco-dictatorship.

' Albania is the first and only narco-dictatorship in Europe. And unfortunately, this is not yet well recognized as a fact,' Berisha said during his speech at the OSCE Assembly.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

In the demographic context, Albania has had the most dramatic developments in the period 2014–2024. During this time, my nation has lost more people than any other nation, even from countries at war, or in regional or global civil conflicts.

45% of Albanians have left Albania during these 10 years. According to Eurostat, 1 million and 99 thousand Albanians have left for the Schengen zone countries. And this does not include those who have fled to other countries or regions. If we refer to some other international organizations, their studies are extremely dramatic regarding Albania.

The UN announced a few months ago that Albania is the country with the largest decline in fertility in the world, due to emigration. Statistics from my country show that the fertility rate today is where it was 100 years ago.

Why such a devastating demographic blow? The main reason is: the narco-dictatorship.

As I pointed out before, Albania is the first and only narco-dictatorship in Europe. And unfortunately, this is not yet well-known as a fact.

Let me make a few comments:

Anyone who looks at the Albanian economy will see that it grows year after year by 3%. It is a respectable growth. But what is this growth? It is a drug boom. Why? It is a drug boom because industrial production, in the last 5 years, has fallen year after year. So has agricultural production, or other sectors. But there is one sector that maintains the highest growth rate in Europe, which is construction. If you look at Eurostat, you will find that the construction index in Tirana is three times higher than the average construction index in the EU. These are drug trafficking buildings. All these towers are monuments to drugs and corruption.

If you look at the Euro, it is the Euro of drug trafficking. The European currency in Albania has been devalued by 35–38%. This has killed hundreds and hundreds of exporting companies, because the narcoEuro enters the country through containers, through all means, and 80% of investments in the construction sector do not come from banks, but from the underground. This process is personally led by the narcodictator, who has created a syndicate with drug cartels and gives them every opportunity and freedom to launder money in my country.

So, the next victim is the elections I talked about this morning.

These are the factors that are destroying my nation, as the first and only narco-dictatorship in Europe.