"Flamingo Revolution"/ Minister of Environment announces that Zvërnec project has been suspended

The European Commission has increased pressure on Albania regarding the Zvërnec project, warning that any action that violates EU membership standards could jeopardize the integration process, especially in Chapter 27 on the environment.

Brussels, writes Politico, demands full compliance with European directives on the protection of birds and habitats, as well as the repeal of changes to the law on protected areas and the revision of the law on strategic investments.

According to the EC, Albanian authorities have informed that the project has been temporarily suspended and that an environmental impact assessment will be carried out in cooperation with civil society.

Meanwhile, protests against the project, known as the “Flamingo Revolution,” have intensified domestically and in the diaspora, increasing political and public pressure on the issue.

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The European Commission has warned Albania against actions that could affect its path to EU membership, amid ongoing national protests over a Jared Kushner-linked development project on the country's southern coast.

National protests entered their seventh day on Sunday as Albanians demanded the cancellation of a luxury resort linked to US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, arguing that the project threatens a protected wildlife area home to flamingos, seals and turtle nesting sites.

The Commission is warning that the project could put Albania on a collision course with EU environmental rules, jeopardising its ability to close the green Chapter 27 in its accession talks.

“Albania should refrain from actions that could undermine the fulfillment of the closure standards and [we] expect the Albanian authorities to act without delay,” a European Commission spokesperson told POLITICO in response to a question about the controversial proposed development.

“In the EU accession process, as part of the closing standards for the negotiation of Chapter 27 on environment and climate change, Albania is expected to fully comply with EU legislation in this area, including the Birds and Habitats Directives,” the spokesperson said, demanding that Albania repeal the amendments to the Law on Protected Areas and “complete” the law on strategic investments. As part of the EU accession process, Albania is expected to comply with EU environmental rules.

The spokesperson also told POLITICO that Albania’s environment minister, Sofjan Jaupaj, had informed the Commission in Brussels that construction of the project has been suspended and an environmental impact assessment will be carried out with civil society.

"We have already expressed our concerns to the Minister of the Environment regarding the potential shortcomings of this project," the spokesperson said.

Jaupaj did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution” after the flamingos that inhabit the protected area, the protests intensified over the weekend, with growing calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Albania’s anti-corruption prosecutor, SPAK, has also opened an investigation into controversial changes to the area’s protected status and land ownership in 2024.

"We note that the project is also subject to ongoing SPAK investigations that reportedly extend beyond environmental concerns," the spokesperson said.

Rama recently told POLITICO that there is not much interest from EU leaders in the political turmoil in Albania at the moment. In an interview on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Montenegro on June 5, Rama also claimed that “if it weren’t for Jared, they wouldn’t be interested at all” in the project.

Albanians in New York, London, Brussels, Milan and Berlin, as well as other cities in Albania, have joined calls for the project to be canceled and for Albania's nature not to fall victim to uncontrolled tourism.

Albania is one of the leading candidates to join the EU along with Montenegro, and Rama has set a target of joining the bloc by 2030, with technical negotiations to be concluded by the end of 2027.

The review comes in the wake of Albania’s 2024 amendments to its Protected Areas law, which critics say opened the door to large-scale development in sensitive wildlife areas. This includes the Vjosa-Nartë protected area, where the Kushner-linked project is located and lacks an environmental impact assessment.

Brussels has also long pressured Tirana to repeal its 2015 Strategic Investments law, as it gives favored projects fast-track treatment that risks circumventing EU environmental protections.