Albania's AI-powered EU-integration and the U.S. need for civilizational allies

On May 15, 2025, Edi Rama, Albania’s 6ft6 tall Socialist Prime Minister, welcomed a host of European leaders, including Britain's Starmer, France's Macron, Italy's Meloni, Turkey's Erdogan and the EU head Ursula Von der Leyen, to Tirana, for the sixth European Political Community (EPC) Summit. Held under the theme “New Europe in a New World: Unity – Cooperation – Joint Action,” the summit purported to discuss critical issues from security and democratic resilience to migration, with an emphasis on supporting Ukraine amid Russia’s aggression. This event, the first EPC summit in the Western Balkans, saw Europe’s political elite converge on Tirana. Tirana is an interesting and growingly important capital; sadly its importance stems from the wrong reasons.

Just five days earlier, on May 11, 2025, Rama's Socialist Party had claimed a 52% victory in Albania’s parliamentary elections, the fourth in a row against a struggling conservative opposition. But just as the limelight faded, the cracks on Albania's democratic facade started to show. Critics started to claim that just as Giro D'Italia's Albanian leg had been aptly scheduled on E-day to divert attention from electoral irregularities, the EU summit had been planned by the Albanian Prime Minister to to take place few days later to add legitimacy to an election he was bound to win. The script had been written long before the votes were cast. Rama’s own Socialist Party campaign logo, a star from EU’s constellation, which he used without any prior authorization, first for his campaign, then as the as the Tirana EU summit's official image, drew zero rebuke, just lavish praise from Brussels. Yet, how did EU anoint Rama with such haste?

The answer lies in a chilling bargain: and no, it's not just stability at any cost. One could try to sympathetically argue that EU sees Rama as a linchpin in its Balkan puzzle, a trusted partner in deals like the Italy-Albania migration pact, a strong leader for Europe's second poorest nation, and maybe, but just maybe, even a bulwark against Russian advances. These arguments might sound right, but they are not significant. With this in mind - what if the hypermodern setting of the Tirana EU summit (Rama had a purpose-built pavilion just to host the event, with French windows, faultless air condition, fancy chairs and his own mural art right in the middle of a public park) is just another Potemkin village? If so, at what price does this illusion come? And most important: who backs the bill? The answer may surprise some - it's not just Albanians.

Europe's Darling Autocrat

Known for wearing white sneakers and cracking jokes in EU summits, as much as for his ability to make bold compliments to US President Trump before it was cool, Edi Rama has artistically courted his allies with a Machiavellian twist. He doesn't conceal his need to court anyone who counts. He was willing to hire the company of Tony Blair's wife and the services of the former Italian PM D'Alema, but he did that as a friend, interested to see his friends thrive, even when they are not powerful anymore. Albania's leader is the ideal friend and the greatest host - he is funny when you are in power, and useful when you are out of it. European leaders don't fail to oblige - they swoon about "their Edi". The latter does not fail to impress. What made world headlines from the Tirana European Summit of 2025 wasn’t any breakthrough policy on security or migration—it was a short AI-generated video showing world leaders as babies, cooing "Welcome to Albania" greetings and looking cute. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni laughed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cracked a smile. The room enjoyed a brief chuckle. But behind the light-hearted moment lies a more serious question: why was this video, of all things, what will be remembered from a summit meant to address civilizational crises?

Just some days before the EU Summit, few miles west of Tirana, as Edi Rama's electoral victory was nearing its irreversible completion, EU's very own Ambassador to Albania admitted: “I was in Durrës because there was information about gangs” - but of course "institutions are working just fine". Yet what average citizens know since decades is that the only "institution" working "just fine" in Durrës, Albania's largest seaport, is organised crime.

The U.S Dilemma

The Balkans have always been a geostrategic chessboard, and the U.S. has a stake in every move. Countering Russian influence demands stable allies. In the Balkans, Albania is not just a third-tier European ally and low-cost touristic paradise. It is that of course, but there is more. Durrës isn’t just another port. It is a global drug trafficking artery. An Albania sliding into authoritarianism could become a pawn for Moscow, a weak link in NATO’s flank. Yet the EU, drunk on its stabilitocratic wine, claps for Rama’s encore, ignoring the rot. Von der Leyen gushes, “Albania makes great progress toward the EU under your leadership”, while Rama’s illiberalism flies undisturbed under the radar.

Not long ago, Samuel Samson of the U.S. State Department wrote a call to action, urging Europe to recommit to the shared Western heritage that underpins its alliance with the United States. In his May 27, 2025, article, he warned of Europe’s drift from democratic principles, pointing at "reborn" drive to censorship, restrictions on religious and political expression, and the undermining of fair elections. Samson considered this a betrayal of the natural law and individual rights that flow from Athens to America’s founding. He argued that this erosion threatens not just Europe’s future but the transatlantic partnership itself. For Samson, European governments ought to do what it takes to protect free speech, secure borders, and ensure electoral integrity, instead of undermining it. His message was a plea for a Europe that stands as a true civilizational ally, not a hollow shell propped up by globalist conformity.

Samson’s take did not go unchallenged. The Globalist in a 31 May article[1] charged him with “projecting American constitutional rigidity onto Europe’s evolving frameworks,” lamenting his “idealized 18th-century view of political philosophy” that misses the intricate dance of European governance. In Albania’s shadowed democratic landscape, where Edi Rama’s rule basks in EU praise despite electoral flaws and silenced presses, this clash illuminates a deeper rift: Samson’s clarion call for Western fidelity meets The Globalist’s plea for nuance, urging a delicate balance between principle and the gritty realities of a nation teetering on democracy’s edge.

In terms of balance between realities and principles, Albania's Rama offers a living example, his whole career being a carefully coreographed and artistically curated balancing act. Rama’s popularity among past and current EU leaders isn’t just about his flair as an entertainer or the consultancy gigs he dangles for out-of-office politicians. While those perks sweeten the deal, the real reason lies deeper, tangled in the gritty pragmatism of Realpolitik—where interest trumps ideology and moral posturing. Albania’s strategic value lies exactly in its insignificance. Playing the insignificance card gives Rama his unexpected edge. Sitting at the doorstep of the Balkans, poor but cute Albania under Rama offers EU leaders a buffer of surreal calm in a stormy neighborhood. Supporting him is less about his hospitality and more about playing the game of former competing great powers generously joining hands to admit a backward country in the club of nations. Edi Rama's artsy looks make Albania look European in its intent, regardless of its backwardness in its substance, whilst his backdoor deals and economic perks - favorable conditions for businesses in energy, tourism or infrastructure, make for a compelling case.

Rama’s not just a nice host; for the current EU leadership he’s a strategic asset, right because Albania, insignificant as it may be, makes good old Europe looks great, serious, benevolent and even relaxed, whilst actually teetering itself at the brink of irrelevance. Rama’s EU backers are playing a Realpolitik game: calculated, grounded in the here-and-now, prioritizing stability and influence within existing realities over grand ideological causes. They’re not dreaming of a better world - they’re managing their little interests in a tricky dirty corner of the current one. Rama's show of statesmanship - the grand dinners, the art, the personal charisma - puts a glossy sheen on their pragmatic choices, making them palatable.

Yet, beneath the spectacle, the EU’s betting on short-term wins: a stable, controllable ally, a great outdoors host, an annoying little watchdog on Moscow, a little but cute profit pipeline. But there is a long-term cost for this unprincipled pragmatism. The EU-Rama bargain does have a shelf life. And it’s shorter than the EU might think. Propping up Rama, whose rule leans on electoral sleight-of-hand and media chokeholds, chips away at EU's own long-term leverage. The EU has gone a long way in legitimizing a well-documented slide into authoritarianism, not just in Albania, but across the Balkans, as other leaders take notes. That’s problem one: erosion of the values the EU claims to champion. Problem two is instability. A leader held up by foreign hands is a house of cards—when unrest brews or Rama exits stage left, the vacuum might reignite the old chaos. Then there’s the EU’s moral clout: its soft power hinges on being a democratic beacon. Backing Rama dims that light, inviting cynicism from allies and foes alike. In the long run, these unprincipled choices—masked by Rama’s dazzling act, will spectacularly backfire. The EU might "stabilize" Albania today only to destabilize the Balkans tomorrow, failing to nurture genuine relations that could outlast any one man. For the U.S., watching from across the Atlantic, it’s a cautionary tale. Alliances built on convenience over shared principles often crumble when the stakes get high. Rama’s EU and US fan club might be cheering now, but the encore could be a reckoning they didn’t rehearse for.

The U.S. needs allies that embody Western values, nations that uphold democracy without external prodding. Albania, with its latest election manipulation falls short of this standard. The U.S. won’t reshape Albania’s internal dynamics, but it should expect Tirana to align with the principles that define the West. As the EU claps for Rama’s stability-at-any-cost charade, America must carefully weigh its role. Far from being an uninterested spectator of Europe's fate, America has a choice to make. It will either decide to echo European Union's complacency or hold Albania accountable. Samson’s warning underscores that true alliance demands fidelity to shared values, not just strategic convenience. Ironically, before Rama sang hymns of praise to US President Trump, he considered his eventual victory back in 2016 live on CNN[2] as a “disaster for the city on the hill”. That scathing criticism now echoes back, his own governance being exactly the alleged authoritarian catastrophe he once condemned.

With this having been said - will the U.S, in the name of its non-inference in the affairs of its allies, let Rama’s act continue, a Balkan stabilocrat pirouetting on democracy’s grave, or will it step in to help the democratic forces rewrite the score? The answer will echo beyond Tirana, shaping America’s moral and strategic footprint in a region teetering on the edge.

Çeno is one of the co-founders of the ACI, board member, director of the International Law and Liberty Society Albania, entrepreneur, and Secretary for Foreign Relations at the conservative Democratic Party of Albania

References

‘Mini Meloni & Tiny Erdoğan’: AI Video of World Leaders as Infants Steals Show at Albania Summit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk-RjGIx2cI

Reporter.al: Organized Crime Oriented the Vote in Durrës - https://www.reporter.al/beginnings-elections-2025/organized-crime-oriented-vote-durres/

RTSH: EC President von der Leyen Congratulates PM Rama - https://rtsh.al/rti/en/ec-president-von-der-leyen-congratulates-pm-rama-albania-makes-great-progress-toward-eu-under-your-leadership/

Euractiv: The Brief – Edi Rama, Everybody’s Friend - https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/opinion/the-brief-edi-rama-everybodys-friend/

Washington Examiner - Albania lawfare? How Biden aided Soros’s favorite narco-state https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/3297339/tirana-lawfare-biden-blinken-soros-albania/

New Union Post: European Political Community and Edi Rama - https://newunionpost.eu/2025/05/16/european-political-community-edi-rama/

Balcani e Caucaso: Edi Rama Tightens Grip on Albania https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Albania/Edi-Rama-tightens-grip-on-Albania-237924

New Eastern Europe: Edi Rama’s Illiberalism Is Flying Under the EU’s Radar https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/12/17/edi-ramas-illiberalism-is-flying-under-the-eus-radar/

Lapsi.al: SPAK Delays and Troplini Gang Involvement - https://lapsi.al/2025/05/23/hije-dyshimi-per-sjelljen-e-spak-me-grupin-troplini/

Balkan Insight: Rama’s Attacks on Prosecutors Turn Albania’s Justice Reform into Election Issue https://balkaninsight.com/2025/03/03/pms-attacks-on-prosecutors-turn-albanias-justice-reform-into-election-issue/

Reporter.al: Voter Turnout and Emigration in 2025 Elections - https://www.reporter.al/2025/05/12/shqiper.booking-shkon-drejt-supermaxhorances-socialiste-ndersa-mbi-200-mije-vete-mungojne/

CNN, 13 April, 2016: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama fears what could happen to America if Donald Trump is elected president - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnv3wqcMjTU

Samuel Samson, State Department, 27 May 2025

https://statedept.substack.com/p/the-need-for-civilizational-allies-in-europe

The Globalist, "The U.S. State Department’s Artful Misreading of Contemporary Europe", 31 May 2025

https://www.theglobalist.com/europe-united-states-governance-democracy-philosophy-trump-administration-samuel-samson/