Der Standard: EU and protesters in one line against Rama's laws on protected areas

Der Standard devotes an extensive analysis to the protests in Albania against luxury resorts planned in the Vjosa-Narta protected area.

According to Austrian media, the protesters' demands for the repeal of the law on protected areas and the law on strategic investments coincide with the demands that the European Commission has long addressed to the Albanian government within the framework of the integration process.

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One of the protesters' banners in Tirana reads: "Repeal Law No. 21 of 2024 on protected areas! Repeal Law No. 55 of 2015 on strategic investments! Cancel all permits, contracts and decisions issued on the basis of these laws!"

These demands strike at the heart of the matter. If these two laws were not in force, the controversial luxury resorts planned on the Albanian coast near Vlora, within a protected natural area, could not be built.

The European Commission has long demanded that the 2015 strategic investment law be completely repealed, as well as that the changes made in 2024 to protected areas be withdrawn. This means that the demands of the European Commission and those of the protesters are essentially the same.

"Serious concerns"

However, the Albanian government has not shown any willingness to implement these demands.

In September 2025, the European Commission stated that, in the context of Albania's accession process to the European Union, "there are serious concerns that the amended law on protected areas allows infrastructure projects that could endanger biodiversity and Natura 2000 areas."

For this reason, the Commission called on Albania to immediately take measures to harmonize national legislation on nature protection with the European Union acquis (legislation) in the field of nature conservation.

But apparently, in Tirana they have ignored the word "immediately".

In a response to a question from the newspaper Der Standard, the Albanian government's Media and Information Agency writes, in response to the question of when the 2024 law will be amended: "First of all, there is no rush. The law is part of the calendar of our EU membership negotiations and must be fully aligned with the EU acquis by the end of 2027."

It further states: "We are convinced that, in the end, none of the changes introduced in 2024 will be part of the provisions that need to be revised, as they have been adopted taking full account of the relevant EU legislation. We will see."

Little willpower

Është e qartë se qeveria nuk dëshiron ta ndryshojë fare ligjin e diskutueshëm, megjithëse Komisioni Evropian vitin e kaluar kërkoi "shfuqizimin e dispozitave të papajtueshme të futura me ndryshimet në Ligjin për Zonat e Mbrojtura (Ligji nr. 21/2024), si dhe përfundimin e legjislacionit të vitit 2015 për investimet strategjike."

Konkretisht bëhet fjalë për këtë: Në vitin 2024 u rishkrua një nen i ligjit për zonat e mbrojtura.

Neni i ri lejoi për herë të parë "akomodime me pesë yje (ose të një niveli më të lartë), si dhe infrastrukturën përkatëse brenda zonave të mbrojtura".

U shtua edhe një klauzolë, ku thuhet se kjo vlen: "Pavarësisht nëse kjo është përcaktuar në dekretin me të cilin është shpallur zona e mbrojtur".

Me këtë, qeveria krijoi një "çek të bardhë" për resortet luksoze në kategorinë 5 të zonave të mbrojtura, ku bëhet fjalë për mbrojtjen e peizazhit.

Përpara këtij ligji të vitit 2024, resortet luksoze të planifikuara do të kishin qenë të paligjshme.

Tani, resortet me pesë yje lejohen automatikisht.

Shërbimi për media i qeverisë iu përgjigj pyetjes së Der Standard, nëse pas ndryshimit të ligjeve të vitit 2024, të kërkuar nga BE-ja, ndërtimi i resorteve luksoze nuk do të lejohej më, me këto fjalë: "Zona e diskutueshme nuk ka qenë kurrë një zonë me mbrojtje të rreptë, ku ndërtimi është i ndaluar. Bëhet fjalë për një peizazh të mbrojtur, ku, si sipas ligjit shqiptar ashtu edhe sipas udhëzimeve përkatëse ndërkombëtare për mbrojtjen e natyrës, lejohen ndërhyrje të kontrolluara."

Pyetjes së Der Standard qeveria nuk i përgjigjet fare.

"Kufizohet me paturpësi"

Veçanërisht me një ton të ftohtë dhe cinik, zyra e medias e qeverisë shqiptare iu përgjigj pyetjes lidhur me kërkesën e Parlamentit Evropian për të vendosur një moratorium të menjëhershëm për të gjitha procedurat e reja të dhënies së lejeve dhe projektet e zhvillimit në zonat e mbrojtura.

"A do ta zbatojë qeveria një moratorium të tillë?", pyeti STANDARD.

Zyra e medias u përgjigj:

"Jo. Qeveria nuk ka ndërmend të vendosë një moratorium të përgjithshëm."

Thomas Waitz, drejtuesi i delegacionit të të Gjelbërve në Parlamentin Evropian, i cili u angazhua për kërkesën për një moratorium, tha: "Kryeministri shqiptar Edi Rama i ka premtuar vazhdimisht BE-së se do të mbronte jo vetëm lumin Vjosa, por edhe deltën e tij. Pikërisht tani po ndodh e kundërta. Qeveria shqiptare i justifikon projektet e planifikuara të ndërtimit duke thënë se Vjosa-Narta është vetëm një zonë e mbrojtur dhe jo një park kombëtar, ndërkohë që ishin vetë ata që disa vite më parë e ulën këtë standard mbrojtjeje!"

Waitz continued: "It borders on impudence to try to calm the situation by saying that the projects do not have a construction permit anyway, when it is clearly visible that construction machinery is already inside the protected area. Albania's EU membership in 2030 is being worked on with great joy and motivation, but the Rama government, with the way it is acting in Vjosa-Nartë, is creating unnecessary obstacles."

The Albanian government also stands out for the fact that it responds to journalists' critical questions with counter-accusations.

She wrote to STANDARD that the decision-making process has been "overshadowed by a digital campaign against a non-existent project," which is "based on a series of half-truths that have been continually transformed into ever-bigger lies."

According to her, everything seems like "a dystopian version of reality," because "there is neither a final project, nor a building permit, nor an approved construction project."

The company received permission

However, the Albanian government's Territorial Development Agency confirmed to STANDARD, in a very real and not at all "dystopian" way, that the company Zvërnec South Adriatic Development LLC has been granted by the National Council for Territory and Water a:

-Development permit, with Decision No. 41, dated March 30, 2026, for the "Zvërnec Peninsula" project, a multifunctional tourist and residential project in Zvërnec, Municipality of Vlora.

The company has also been approved for:

-Construction permit, with Decision No. 5, dated April 29, 2026, for the construction of a perimeter fence and internal access roads within the project area.

The permit states that this was required "to secure the project territory."

It is this company that is behind the planned luxury resort, in which Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also wants to invest.

The question remains open as to how the European Union will react to the Albanian government's actions.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, recently stated that the EU has received guarantees from the Albanian government that European standards will be implemented.

Environmental biologist Olsi Nika, from the organization Eco Albania, says that the construction of luxury resorts will transform the entire area into an urban zone and, as a result, it will no longer be a protected landscape area.

According to him, it is currently not possible to challenge the decisions of the National Council for Territory and Water, because they - perhaps intentionally - have not yet been published in the Official Gazette.

Nika added that the organization is disappointed by Marta Kos's statement.