The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, warned that the Law on strategic investments will soon be repealed.
The request for the repeal of this law has been made by the European Union.
During a media conference with journalists from EU countries, Rama explained the reasons for this decision, which according to him, have nothing to do with the protests that are being held regarding the project in Zvërnec, near Vlora.
“The law has never been unfair, but the good thing is that we will leave it out because it has fulfilled its mission. It’s not that we are fighting for it, it’s not that we will say that the assessment (of the EU) is wrong, we will just leave it out. It has nothing to do with what happens on the road. It has nothing to do with anything that revolves around this story,” he said.
Thousands of people are protesting in Tirana, in other cities of Albania, as well as in several countries of the world, opposing the construction of a resort in Zvërnec, near Vlora, amid concerns about the impact on the environment and disputes over land ownership.
Zvrneci is located in a protected area that is a habitat for flamingos, seals and breeding sea turtles. The flamingo has become a symbol of the protests, with demonstrators holding pink birds and placards reading “Flamingo Revolution”. Repeal of the Law on strategic investments is one of the protesters’ demands.
A day ago, the spokesperson of the European Commission, Guillaume Mercier, told Radio Free Europe that “the extension of the term of operation of the Law on strategic investments continues to raise concerns regarding the possible environmental impacts, especially in protected areas”.
The EC has expressed concern that the planned project in the Pishë Poro-Nartë protected area may have environmental impacts that contradict the process of membership negotiations between Albania and the EU.
The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, defended the law emphasizing that it has helped many investments go to Albania. But, according to him, the country no longer needs this law because big investors are leaving and don’t need the facilities offered by the law. He said that a new investment law is being worked on, together with the European bloc.
“It is something written a long time ago and the end of 2027 has been set there (as a deadline), but we can do it even before. The new law requires time because the Commission must see it. If the law is ready this year, we will approve it this year”, he said.
The Law on Strategic Investments was adopted in 2015 with a three-year term, but since then the term of its operation has been extended six times. The law offers procedural, fiscal and administrative facilities, public investments, the granting of public land and state intervention for the expropriation of private property, and other facilities for those who benefit from the status of “strategic investors”.
For four years, the EU has requested the revision of this law in the progress reports for Albania. Two years ago, the EU ambassador in Tirana stated that this law gives preferential status to those who are considered strategic investors, who then benefit from land under very preferential conditions or sometimes even at a very low price, below the market price. He had expressed concern that the entire process leading to the selection of strategic investors is somewhat non-transparent, especially in the south of Albania.
There have been ongoing debates about this law in Albania, as the opposition and experts have opposed it.
In December 2024, the Government of Albania granted strategic investor status to the company of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to build a luxury resort on the island of Sazan.
The Committee for Strategic Investments, which is led by Rama, accepted the proposal of the company Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, for the project of 45 hectares on the island of Sazan. The project foresees an investment of 1.4 billion euros. Regarding the project that Kushner said he would invest in Zvrnec, Rama said earlier that there was no request for strategic investor status.
In the answers to the questions of European journalists, Rama insisted that there is no project for either Sazan or Zvrnec, but only ideas or visions.
“For Sazan, there is no need for a project, but an agreement because we are not selling the island. They have never asked to buy the island. Even if they asked, we have never thought of an alternative to sell the island. The island belongs to the Albanians and will continue to be the property of the Republic of Albania. It will have ownership of the object,” he said.
Rama said that the Albanian Investment Corporation is the one that should do the negotiations to have a share in the ownership of the investment, stressing that the Albanian state will profit from this investment.
Meanwhile, regarding the investment in Zvërnec, Rama said that this idea was presented two years ago.
“The Zvrnec project as a vision, so visually, was presented two years ago by an architect who represented the investors before the group got bigger. There were some sketches at the time that Jared (Kushner) posted on his Twitter. They never came to us, but they were presented in an interview, and by the way, that sketch is much more densely built than it will be. There was no kind of feedback saying don’t touch it (Zvrnecin)”, said Rama.
Journalists quoted the ambassador of the EU delegation in Tirana, Silvio Gonzato, to have told you that the project in Zvërnec has been suspended, but Rama stated that there is no project, so there can be no talk of suspension or cancellation.
“If he (Ambassador Gonzato) said this, he is wrong. Because there is no suspended project. It is a lie because the project has never been suspended, it has never been canceled because it was never approved in the first place. You cannot cancel something that has not been approved. As we speak, work continues on its drafting,” said Rama.
The spokesperson of the European Commission, Guillaume Mercier, also spoke about the suspension of construction the day before. He said that the Ministry of Environment in Albania informed the European interlocutors during an online meeting that construction works have been suspended and that a full environmental impact assessment will be carried out for the project, in consultation with civil society.REL
