Press Conference of Prime Minister Edi Rama

 

Prime Minister Edi Rama: I am here together with the Minister for Relations with Parliament, who will also take on the role of government spokesperson and will hold a weekly off-camera informational meeting with you to provide all the necessary information regarding any questions you may have. Naturally, you will be free to publish that information.

We wanted to hold this press conference because there are several issues that deserve to be addressed and that I believe are directly related to the public interest, starting with the strategic project of Albania’s new Commercial and Military Port and continuing with the impact of the war against the criminal regime in Tehran on the price of oil, which naturally has immediate consequences for food prices as well. These two topics were planned for discussion today.

However, in the meantime, I will begin with yesterday’s decision of Parliament. Not the decision itself, but the completely distorted echo that it received.

You have surely followed the entire course of the day and, I believe, my own statement which I want to repeat, because it relates directly to the simple truth that the request of the Prosecution did not meet even the minimum conditions to be taken into consideration. Meanwhile, the attempt to link the refusal to some other reason or to portray it as a fact that will block Albania’s path toward the European Union, or hinder the continued implementation of the justice reform, or obstruct the independent activity of justice, is an ugly attempt. In its desperation it contains all the ingredients we see daily in the efforts made to obstruct Albania and to slow the rapid steps with which we are advancing in the negotiation process.

There is nothing new in this, but naturally the material in this case is convenient for confusing people and beating the drum of war against the government and against this governing majority.

I want to assure everyone that there is no obstacle whatsoever on our unstoppable path toward full membership in the European Union. There is no discussion about our will to continue on the path we have opened toward the independence of the justice system and the real fight against corruption. Likewise, there is no doubt that in this case we are not facing a corruption issue because the Prosecution itself has not raised any corruption charges. We are facing an issue under investigation, which can be freely investigated without the slightest obstacle.

And I repeat what I said earlier to the parliamentary group. I encourage the Prosecution to follow and investigate all the paths where the “thorn of corruption” might appear along the way.

So, far we are not facing a case of corruption. That may be little, but it is certain.

On the other hand, it is true that we have had debates with some of our partners regarding the approach to this issue. It is no secret and, as I believe most people know though some pretend not to know, in this position I represent Albania, the interest of Albania and all Albanians. One of the unquestionable norms of this representation is that I look our partners in the eye and they look me in the eye at the same level.

I have no intention of looking down on anyone, but I also have no intention of accepting that anyone looks down on me. It is very simple.

I want to say that beyond how our discussions have been portrayed by the caricatures of the political and media marketplace, our discussions have been constructive. There has been absolutely nothing resembling what has been said regarding tension, pressure, or threats. These things simply do not happen at the levels where these discussions take place.

Moreover, I believe the statements made yesterday by several diplomatic missions as well as by the European Commission’s representative are very clear, but everything depends on how you read them. Considering both the surface on which they are written and the depth of the relationships and the everyday reality of communication within those relationships, I can say with full confidence that the interpretation made by those who cried out that Albania has been blocked and that the European dream is over is, in the best case, a perverse reading and in the worst case a deliberate attempt to harm anyone who truly wishes success on this path.

It is very clear that those who engage in such distortions and beat this drum do not want success on this path, because unfortunately they tie the success of this path to the government, to me, to us.

Regarding the Porto Romano project, unfortunately an unavoidable coincidence occurred. At the final moment the company that had passed all stages and was supposed to submit the final bid withdrew, citing the crisis situation. Naturally, since the financial offer would have been linked to the ceiling established by the study conducted by Royal Haskoning, the largest company in the world for port, airport and infrastructure construction, and with the ceiling established by the open procedure organized by the Albanian government, we have no reason to look for anything else behind this ourselves.

We have no data that the company was under any pressure, but the entire process has been under pressure. Not pressure from the United States as has been claimed, with absolutely no evidence. There has been neither pressure nor even expressed concern from the United States, from the European Union, or from anyone else. But there has been continuous pressure from other factors who are naturally uninterested in seeing this port become a success story.

From the very beginning there have been people who say, “Why do we need a new port when we have our port, that swamp in the heart of Durrës?” They used to link the new port with selling the homeland into the hands of Arabs, though lately I have not heard that argument again.

The truth is that beyond the ignorance that often shapes how important issues are treated here, there have always been forces interested in preventing the new port project from moving forward.

Why? For a simple reason that anyone who wants to understand can easily understand.

The existing port has no capacity to be the strategic and logistical hub of Corridor VIII. Even if you beautify it, it is unsuitable in every respect to serve as a logistics hub for Corridor VIII. I am not the one saying this. All the analyses say it, all the processes say it, and the simple reality says it because that port is in the middle of the city.

A port logistics hub in the middle of a city simply does not exist and cannot exist.

Second, the new port as the connecting hub of Corridor VIII takes Albania to an entirely different level. Not only Albania, but Albanians themselves. It is connected to another strategic node, the Dry Port of Pristina, and to another node, the Dry Port of Skopje.

Originally the Skopje Dry Port was planned in Struga. The new government decided to move it to Skopje, and that change alone should be enough for anyone who thinks logically to understand that we are also dealing here with important national strategic interests.

Now, if you believe that everyone is waiting eagerly for Albanians to become stronger, you can believe that. But I assure you that in many places there are forces that do not welcome this.

This is not only about geopolitical rivalry. It is also about commercial interests of different countries.

If you think that those whose interests are linked to trafficking routes are waiting for this port to open, you are mistaken. On the contrary, they have no reason to welcome it.

Another fact is that Corridor VIII today is part of the European Transport Network. Not because we say so, but because it is officially included in the map of the European transport network at the European Commission in Brussels. This status is entirely different from corridors that exist geographically but are not part of that network.

Corridors that are not on that map are not financed.

We may build them ourselves, as we will build the Durrës–Pristina railway together with the Government of Kosovo. We discussed two financing possibilities with the Prime Minister of Kosovo during our last meeting. But there is no chance that we will receive European funds for that railway because it is not part of that network.

This Corridor VIII, which some people play with in words without understanding what they are talking about, was included in the European Transport Network here in Tirana at the EU–Western Balkans Summit after years of effort by this government. After that, Corridor VIII also became part of NATO’s secure mobility network. Our project for the combined commercial and military port is already on NATO’s table and has passed all technical levels as a necessity.

Could we build a NATO military base in the current port basin of Durrës? No. Could the existing port serve as the strategic hub we are discussing? No.

Precisely because of the seriousness of this project we engaged the largest company in the world, Royal Haskoning, whose reputation cannot seriously be questioned. The company prepared the terms of reference and supervised the entire tender process.

The tender was organized twice. Both times there was strong interest. The first time the criteria were very strict and the process was cancelled. This time we faced this unfortunate coincidence where the company withdrew citing the crisis and price volatility.

If the situation does not return to normal, taking responsibility for such a project under those price conditions becomes extremely difficult.

We have no information that any other factor influenced the company’s withdrawal.

I want to use this moment to send a message to all those who have tried to obstruct this port and who think they succeeded. They are mistaken. They have only opened another path. A path that they can no longer block and will not be able to stop.

Within the same timeframe we will take the next step that until now we have been unable to take. I will not say more at this moment because we are preparing the next move, which we will make public when the time comes.

It is certain that anyone who thinks they can subdue the government of the Republic of Albania, whether internal or external forces, will be left disappointed.

The next point concerns the crisis.

Next week the Parliament of Albania will be invited to vote on a resolution declaring the Khomeinist Republic of Iran a state sponsor of terrorism. I cannot call it Islamic because, according to what I know and value about Islam, it has nothing to do with Islam.

At the same time the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah will be declared terrorist organizations.

We are not pioneers in this step. Some of our partners and allies have taken similar steps before us. But the time has come for us to do the same.

The crisis is affecting the entire world. It is also appearing here because of rising oil prices.

I have already stated that one of our objectives is to create a new factory in the oil market. A state factor, a public force capable of easing the burden on citizens, just as we eased the burden in air travel by introducing competition.

Albania once had the most expensive airport in Europe. Today it has the most successful airport in the Balkans. Tirana has surpassed the traditional aviation hub of the region, Belgrade.

We will introduce the public sector into the oil market as well. Very soon we will show how the oil market will change. By using the capacity and guarantees of the state it will become much easier to reach long term agreements with oil distribution companies.

We are also advancing the law on strategic reserves. Previously when I spoke about oil reserves people criticized the idea, but today it has become imperative.

The law currently under consultation foresees reserves for three months, but that is no longer enough. We must go beyond simple security measures. We must move toward what citizens feel and what citizens deserve: an oil market that is more affordable than the current one.

Those were the points I wanted to share with you. Now, of course, I did not call you here to give a speech and say goodbye. I am confident that you will respect the order and focus on these topics.

Thank you!