Albania warned EU accession at risk over Jared Kushner-backed resort plans [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Albania warned EU accession at risk over Jared Kushner-backed resort plans

Proposed development of protected shorelines and wildlife zones violates EU environmental policy, says MEP

Helena Smith
Wed 1 Jul 2026 19.19 BST
Last modified on Wed 1 Jul 2026 20.45 BST

MEPs have warned Albania that EU accession talks are at risk if the government does not “change course” over plans for a luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Tineke Strik, the Dutch MEP heading a European parliament fact-finding mission to the Balkan nation, said Albania’s leadership was “playing with fire” by pursuing the €1.4bn (£1.2bn) real-estate venture that would, she said, wreak havoc on virgin coastline.

Opposition to the project has spurred a wave of unprecedented unrest known as the “flamingo revolution” amid mounting calls for the resignation of the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama.

Interviewed by the Guardian, Strik said: “If Rama is really serious about his EU ambitions, he should step back from this trajectory and say to the Trump clan: ‘Sorry, the EU is my first priority.’

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/01/albania-warned-eu-accession-at-risk-jared-kushner-resort-plans