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OPINEWS

In an Albania that is depopulating, why is the prime minister campaigning with the promise of making it easier for young people to leave?

Politiko 2025-04-30 19:32:43

In an Albania that is depopulating, why is the prime minister campaigning with

If Rama wants to be the prime minister who takes Albania into the European Union, he must first be the leader who makes Albania worthy of staying. That means building a country where an EU passport is a gateway - not an escape route. Because freedom is not just the ability to leave. It is also the right to hope, to build and to thrive - right where you are.

By ANDI BALLA
In his latest campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections in May, Prime Minister Edi Rama has come up with an interesting idea: freedom through departure.

Rama is promising that Albania’s EU membership will happen by 2030. And of all the benefits that come with membership, he is focusing heavily on one thing he knows sells well to Albanian voters: the EU passport.
“Albania’s European passport… means the freedom to stay anywhere within the EU’s borders,” he said on March 29. “With an EU passport, young men and women from Albania will be able to study at EU universities with the same rights and fees as equal European students. Every Albanian will be able to work anywhere – from Stockholm to Lisbon, from Madrid to Warsaw – enjoying the same rights as Swedes in Sweden and Spaniards in Spain.”
It’s an appealing message, especially for the tens of thousands of Albanians who plan to emigrate each year. But for a country already crumbling under the weight of depopulation, it also borders on the surreal. Why is the leader of an aging and shrinking country openly campaigning on a promise that will make it easier for its young people to leave?
Albania’s demographic decline is no longer a future concern — it is an ongoing reality. The population has fallen by more than 14 percent since 2011. The birth rate has fallen to a record low of 1.21 children per woman, and almost every village, town, and city feels the emigration vacuum. The working-age population has been hit hardest, shrinking by 18.3 percent in just over a decade. Health care institutions are understaffed, schools are closing, and labor shortages now extend to every sector. Meanwhile, remittances from abroad are more of a lifeline than an investment. The
promise of an EU passport, then, resonates deeply with the public, not because they see a future in Albania, but because they don’t.
For years, Albania’s EU accession process seemed stuck in endless technocratic loops. Many lost faith. Now, with geopolitical changes like Russia’s war in Ukraine reshaping Europe’s priorities, the process has accelerated. At a recent roundtable, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos identified Albania and Montenegro as “frontrunners” in the Western Balkans and suggested that negotiations could be completed by the end of 2027.
But this vision comes with caveats. The reality is much more complex and less certain.
Opinions among EU member states differ widely on how quickly and under what conditions each Western Balkan country should be admitted. The main issue is that, under the EU’s unanimity rule, it only takes one member state to block or completely block the process. France and the Netherlands, for example, have consistently stressed the need for deep internal EU reforms before any enlargement.

Thus, even if Albania were to complete negotiations by 2027 - a very ambitious scenario - there is no guarantee that membership would follow by 2030. Enlargement has become as much about timing and trust as it is about technical readiness.

Moreover, Rama’s message is that he needs a supermajority, essentially consolidating whatever little power remains in the checks and balances in parliamentary life, so that Albanians can get that European passport. And that only he can deliver it. But the truth is that he cannot guarantee that. No leader can. And campaigning on a promise that may not materialize, while ignoring the urgent need to make Albania livable in the meantime, is a risky bet.

Worse, the underlying message seems to be: Albania’s biggest offer to its young people is a way out. The government has not introduced any comprehensive measures to keep its population growing. Incentives for young families are few. Housing is increasingly unaffordable, wages remain low, and trust in public institutions is low. When asked in a 2023 survey where they wanted their children to grow up, most Albanian parents chose “abroad.”
At the same time, Albania lacks what it desperately needs: a vibrant democracy. Under Rama’s leadership, the Socialist Party has consolidated power to an extent not seen in the post-communist era. The SP governs 9 out of 10 Albanians at the municipal level and holds a parliamentary majority that, critics warn, is sliding the country into a single-party system. Media freedom is in decline and the electoral system is skewed to favor incumbents, making it almost impossible for new political voices to gain ground.

This erosion of democratic competition – and indeed any real competition in many areas of life – from academia to business – further disenchants young voters. It is no wonder that, when given the chance, they choose to move to wealthier EU states.
To be clear, EU membership must remain a strategic goal. But it must be approached with clarity and humility. Full EU integration will open up borders – but unless it is accompanied by structural reforms at home, it will also empty Albania faster than ever before.
If Rama wants to be the prime minister who takes Albania into the European Union, he must first be the leader who makes Albania worth staying in. That means investing in healthcare and education, implementing serious anti-corruption reforms, supporting young families with meaningful social policies, and reviving democratic institutions. It means building a country where an EU passport is a gateway – not a lifeline.
Because freedom is not just the ability to leave. It's also the right to hope, to build, and to thrive - right where you are.

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