The Government against the EU: A futile and dangerous spat over solidarity
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The recent weeks have brought to light what experts foresaw: a race over the limited supply of the Covid-19 vaccine. The international coordination mechanisms such as Covaxx alliance have not kicked in yet, limited by the rush of single countries to secure their supply. This risky competition has also dabbled in geopolitical rivalries especially in smaller countries which have gone beyond their alliances to look for jabs. One particular issue has generated tensions between the European Union and the Western
Balkans region. This has been the inconsistent and sometimes unclear position of the Union which like a pendulum has swung from rhetoric of solidarity into unfortunate declarations that region will get the rest only after EU citizens are done. It seems the lesson was lost on the Union that its hesitation to provide PPE and other medical assistance provoked unite a
backlash in the region. The EU came back to offer the largest and most significance assistance however much was lost in the meanwhile.
The same story seems to be repeating with EU officials coming back to the press after their unfortunate declarations and securing the region that it will be included in the vaccine distribution mechanisms.
However on the other side this inconsistency has served very much populist leaders in the region to justify their positions and moves. Albanian Prime Minister Ram has distinguished himself recently saying that were he to write a book on the anger that the lack of EU solidarity on the issue has produced, it “would be an international bestseller.” Furthermore
Rama brought the example of France, which allegedly had doses waiting on the shelves rather than shared with at least the medics in the region.
Rama’s public statements have caused some stormy reactions in the diplomatic and media circles of Tirana. First the head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Soreca expressed his major surprise and disappointment reminding the Albanian government of the major donors’ conference that the EU hosted after the earthquake of 2019. Afterwards the embassy of France publicly repudiated Rama saying that his inaccurate
declarations provoked undeserved reactions from the public opinion. However the PM did not bulge offering just a few more arguments and not any apology. This recent spat with the EU and key member states should be contextualized even further. First of all the opening of the accession negotiations has gone nowhere despite March enthusiasm in March. The first intergovernmental conferences has been delayed for North Macedonia give the Bulgarian veto and for Albania given lack of progress over the
conditions. Second Rama has strengthened and expanded his relations and therefore Albanian foreign policy, which has been personalized, into eastwards partners: Gulf States and Turkey. This has caused even more headache to the traditional strategic western partners when it comes to Albania. The recent spat with the EU is dangerous. First of all it is dangerous in being utterly futile. Albania and the region still largely depends on EU solidarity and EU funds and would better adopt a more savvy approach instead of engaging in unproductive fallouts. Being proactive in seeking vaccine supplies elsewhere, through direct contracts with pharmaceutical companies, can and should be done in parallel and in in contrast to seeking better and more EU assistance and coordination.
This spat is also dangerous in offering the public an anti-EU rhetoric which is absurd in the context of a population that still, despite the EU’s destructive ambiguity, strongly identifies with the accession aspiration.
It is dangerous because it seems, like most of public little shows of this administration, as a ploy to divert attention and discontent over real issues such as the management of the pandemics and the dire economic situation it has brought along. It should be brought to a full stop.
