Brussels – When the fight to protect nature meets the demand for a transparent and accountable political system, new forces and voices can reshape the space of public debate. When all this intersects with the strategic trajectory of a pro-EU country like Albania, what emerges can become fresh air for the whole project of a united Europe.
“For me, the protests are not anti-government in the narrow sense – they are pro-democracy and pro-European values. They remind us that European integration is not only a foreign policy objective, but it is also an internal transformation.” With these words, Marjana Koçeku, the youngest and only independent member of the Albanian Parliament, explains to The New Union Post how the environmental demonstrations have the power to renew the political establishment in the country.
“If Albania truly wants to become a member of the EU, then the path forward requires more than aligning legislation with the acquis,” she continues, referring to “strengthening the rule of law, protecting our natural heritage, ensuring meaningful public consultation, and building institutions that citizens genuinely trust.” These objectives are not in conflict with EU accession, but rather “the very foundation of it,” the independent MP stresses.
An independent voice in the Parliament
Born in 2000 in a village on the banks of the Drin River in the mountains of northern Albania, Koçeku returned to Albania after completing her studies abroad, more specifically to the place where she was raised. There, she founded Neomalsore, a project built around sustainable tourism and community-led development, with the aim of preserving the country’s natural heritage while creating opportunities for the people who live there.
Although she had never been particularly passionate about politics, she ran in the 2025 general election with the desire to change the reality she had come from. “I grew up in a remote and neglected area, where public investment had been missing for decades and opportunities for young people and women were almost non-existent.” Moreover, having become known through an ecological movement and a sustainable tourism project that demonstrated “a different model of development,” Koçeku was convinced that “what worked at the local level could also inspire national politics.”
She managed to enter Parliament with a political vision centred on the awareness that environmental protection, sustainable development, and the well-being of local communities “are not obstacles to progress, but as its very foundation.” Elected with Prime Minister Edi Rama‘s Socialist Party, Koçeku was driven by the belief that “institutions can be changed from within,” but she soon discovered a different reality.
“There was a growing gap between the values I had believed in and the reality I encountered,” she explains. The lack of transparency, the concentration of decision-making power, and the way major projects affecting communities and the environment were being advanced “without meaningful public consultation” led her to leave the governing party. “The turning point came when I understood that remaining silent would have meant compromising the very principles that had brought me into politics in the first place.”
Although leaving the party on 16 June “was not an easy decision” and carried “personal and political costs,” as an independent MP Koçeku now has “a greater freedom to represent the people who elected me, to defend what I believe and to speak openly whenever I believe those values are at risk.” Being, at the same time, the youngest MP in the current legislature is also a “huge responsibility.” As she notes, this “reminds me every day that my generation cannot simply wait for change, we have to become part of creating it.”
Koçeku’s priorities have never been clearer. “Alongside the social contract, we need a natural contract,” which defines “our responsibility not only to one another, but also to the land, our rivers, forests, coastline, and future generations.” Young people and rural communities are therefore another major focus. “Too many talented Albanians feel that their only future lies abroad,” but her own experience has shown that sustainable development “can create opportunities while preserving identity, culture, and nature.” Finally, transparency and accountability should form the basis of “a different political culture in a modern European Albania,” achieving both development and democracy, economic growth and environmental protection.
Between environmental protests and EU accession
It is clear that all this political capital could not ignore the ongoing developments on the Albanian streets. The protests against the luxury property development project linked to Jared Kushner‘s company – the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump – in the Vjosa-Narta protected area have put the traditional parties in the corner, while Tirana is making tangible progress on its EU accession path, which also entails provisions for environmental protection.
“Progress towards EU membership cannot be measured only by diplomatic achievements or by the opening of negotiation chapters,” Koçeku says, recalling that the European project “is ultimately about values” such as democracy, the rule of law, transparency, environmental protection, and citizens’ participation in public life. In that sense, the current protests “should not be seen as a sign that Albania is moving away from Europe, but rather as evidence that Albanian citizens increasingly expect European standards at home.”
People in the EU candidate country want accountable institutions, transparent decisions, and development that respects both communities and the environment. No longer willing to remain passive when they feel excluded from decisions that directly affect their lives, “the protests reveal a growing civic maturity,” she adds. Peaceful mobilisation, public debate, and civic participation “are essential elements of every healthy European democracy.”
As shown by her invitation to the European Parliament on 30 June, the only independent voice in the Albanian Parliament remains “strongly pro-European.” Her expectation of the EU institutions is that they assess Albania “fairly, objectively, and according to the same standards applied to every candidate country,” Koçeku urges, recalling that the Union has “a responsibility to consistently defend the principles on which it is founded.” When citizens peacefully mobilise to demand transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law, and the protection of their environment, “those are profoundly European values.”
In this sense, she suggests that the EU institutions should engage “more directly” with civil society, local communities, independent voices, young people, and environmental organisations. “European integration should be a process that belongs to the society, not only to political elites,” Koçeku concludes. The benefit for the Union itself would be significant: “Listening to those voices would strengthen both Albania’s democracy and the credibility of the accession process.”
The state of EU–Albania relations
Albania’s application for EU membership was submitted in April 2009. EU candidate status was granted in June 2014. In April 2018, the European Commission issued a recommendation to open accession negotiations with Tirana, as Albania and North Macedonia were grouped together under the so-called ‘package approach’.
Due to deteriorating relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, Tirana’s path towards EU accession negotiations also stalled until 19 July 2022, when the accession conferences took place in Brussels. On 25 September 2024, the Council positively assessed Tirana’s alignment with the opening benchmarks for the first cluster of chapters.
On 26 May 2026, Albania received a positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), indicating thatit has met the interim benchmarks in Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) – a prerequisite for closing chapters deemed ready for provisional closure.
To date, all 33 screened negotiating chapters have been opened, and three have been provisionally closed. In Tirana, the goal is to conclude negotiations by 2027, with full membership in sight by 2030.
