Albanian PM says mass protests a threat to EU membership, not government

TIRANA, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday rejected calls to step down from growing street protests, and said they were a threat not to his government but to Albania’s progress toward joining the European Union.

Student-led demonstrations, fuelled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of jobs and poor education standards, have engulfed central Tirana and spread to other cities in the past week.

Demonstrators demanding Rama’s resignation have set fire to government buildings as well as banks and pulled up paving stones to throw at police, who have responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

The unrest, which followed months of largely peaceful protests in the summer against a luxury coastal development backed by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, pose the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and last year won a fourth term in office.

“I am not being challenged, the government is not being challenged, a government majority or a winning party in the elections is not being challenged but a path is being challenged, a mission is being challenged,” Rama said in a live address on Facebook.  

“Albanians need to think very clearly: Do they want this, do they want that, or do they want the EU?”

As Rama spoke, excavators were digging up and removing the paving outside his office in central Tirana as a new round of protests was expected.

Corruption scandals have tarnished Albania’s image over the years and analysts say the country is a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drugs and weapons trafficking.

However, Rama has said his government is tackling corruption as never before. Along with Montenegro, Albania is currently leading the posse of Balkan countries seeking to join the EU, and is aiming for entry by 2030. 

Rama blamed unspecified foreign interests for the protests and for what he said was an attempted drone attack at his office this week.

“God knows what the consequences will be. There are no young people, no students, and no minors who would even think of implementing this plan. This is a foreign hand,” he said. 

Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offences during the demonstrations. Scores of police officers and protesters have been injured. 

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Kevin Liffey)