The European Political Community is just another tool for Edi Rama to promote his international image and narrative

Brussels – It was everything Edi Rama could have hoped for. The sixth meeting of the European Political Community in Tirana offered not only an opportunity to gather nearly all European leaders—EU and non-EU alike—around the same table to discuss the continent’s security, but also handed the Albanian Prime Minister yet another platform to present himself as a credible and reliable international leader, just days after his electoral triumph.

With his usual flair and irreverence—including a rather questionable welcome video in which artificial intelligence turned the leaders into babies—Rama charmed his guests, demonstrating both his pragmatic approach to hosting a high-level meeting and his distinctly pro-EU agenda.

The European Political Community summit “further reinforces Rama’s narrative and contributes to his image as the most pro-EU, pragmatic, and constructive leader in the region,” Tefta Kelmendi, Deputy Director for the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told The New Union Post. It’s a strategy the Albanian Prime Minister has pursued for years—both in bilateral relations, as seen with the migration protocol signed with Italy, and in his engagement with EU institutions, notably through his pledge to bring the country into the Union by 2030.

Rama’s push conveniently aligns with an urgent need in Brussels—”to have a partner with whom it can score a success story on enlargement, as the EU needs this to maintain the credibility of enlargement as an effective geopolitical tool,” Kelmendi pointed out. However, this urgency is not without risks: “It could lead the EU to overlook deeper, systemic issues related to democratic standards and the rule of law in Albania,” she added.

For Rama, maintaining a strong pro-EU international stance is crucial for two key reasons. First, it helps persuade his European partners to overlook the ongoing concerns regarding the rule of law in Albania. Second, since the future Accession Treaty will require ratification by national parliaments across the EU—and in some cases, referendums—this narrative of a “prosperous, democratic and stable Albania, capable of serving as a reliable partner in the post-accession period,” will be “far more persuasive” in securing approval for the final stage of the accession process, Kelmendi warned.

Who is Edi Rama, really?

Edvin Kristaq Rama has been the Prime Minister of Albania since 2013. As a teenager, he was involved in sports as a basketball player, but later he sought to distinguish himself in the arts—at the age of 30, he moved to France to pursue a career as a painter.

In 2000, he was elected Mayor of Tirana. During his tenure, he became known for a disruptive political style and colourful clothing, often featuring self-designed patterned ties. Over his three terms until 2011, hundreds of buildings from the communist era were either demolished or repainted, and the Tirana Master Plan was drafted, including the renovation of Skanderbeg Square, the city’s central plaza.

In 2013, Rama led the leftist coalition to victory in his first national election, defeating the right-wing coalition headed by Sali Berisha‘s Democratic Party. For the past 12 years, Rama has served as Albania’s Prime Minister. Under his leadership, the country has strengthened law enforcement, enacted judicial and economic reforms, and, most notably, deepened relations with regional neighbours and European countries.

Rama’s leadership represents a clear break from Albania’s turbulent past, moving beyond the oppressive communist regime of Enver Hoxha, the chaotic 1990s, and the political instability of the early 2000s. Yet, he has also reshaped the image of political leadership in Albania, blending modernisation with a new style of strongman rule.

In essence, Rama is a stabilocrat—a political leader who pledges reforms and a firm commitment to EU integration while projecting an image of stability and credibility internationally. Yet, behind this façade, his governance is marked by cronyism and corruption, eroding freedom of expression and undermining the very foundations of the rule of law.

Few leaders like Rama are known for being such vocal supporters of the EU project. However, the carefully crafted image he presents to European leaders masks the reality that, after 12 years in power, Albania remains one of Europe’s most troubled countries in terms of corruption and press freedom.

According to the Reporters Sans Frontières 2025 index, Albania ranks 80th out of 180 countries for press freedom. While this represents an improvement of 22 places since 2013, the rise is more reflective of a global decline in press freedom than of substantial progress within Albania itself. This becomes clear when comparing data: in 2013, Albania’s 102nd place corresponded to a score of 69.12, whereas in 2025, its 80th place corresponds to 58.18. The report notes that “impunity” for attacks by organised crime, “combined with political attempts to discredit journalists,” has created a climate likely to encourage further attacks.”

In 2013, Rama inherited an Albania that was already in poor shape. Over the past three mandates in power, he has further weakened the rule of law.

What is the European Political Community

The European Political Community is a platform for coordination between European heads of state and government of EU and non-EU countries on issues of shared strategic importance. Proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron and former European Council President Charles Michel, the initiative held its first meeting in October 2022 in Czechia.

Since its launch, the summit has taken place every six months in a different host country, alternating between EU member states—typically the one holding the rotating presidency of the Council—and non-EU countries. Meetings have been held in Moldova (June 2023), Spain (October 2023), the United Kingdom (July 2024), and Hungary (November 2024). The next European Political Community summit is set to be held in Denmark in autumn 2025.

Apart from all 27 EU leaders—and the presidents of the EU institutions and other relevant European bodies—leaders from outside the Union are also invited to attend the summits. In Tirana, representatives from 20 non-EU countries are present: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

While this summit may resemble existing EU institutions and international organisations, it does not directly replicate any of them, thanks to its informal, flexible format, centred on an opening plenary session, small roundtable discussions on specific issues, and a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings rather than the complex procedures of more institutionalised bodies.

The European Union is clearly the driving force, yet less than 60% of its participants are EU member states. Like the European Council, it brings together heads of state and government, but deliberately avoids the binary EU/non-EU divide and produces no formal conclusions. In its composition, it echoes the Council of Europe, though it lacks a focus on human rights. Like the OSCE, its aim is to promote peace, dialogue and cooperation, but it has no security infrastructure and does not extend beyond Europe.