Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama addressed the brain drain phenomenon during his keynote speech at the European Political Community summit in Prague on Thursday evening, speaking of a bitter loss of the region’s brightest. The initiative was tabled by French President Emmanuel Macron and saw 43 European leaders meet for a summit at Prague Castle.
The Western Balkans and particularly Albania, are plagued by mass emigration. Over the last decade, at least 400,000 Albanians have emigrated, sought asylum, or left the country through illegal means, with the situation further exacerbated by the declining birthrate.
Rama mentioned fears resulting from being cut off from the EU while geographically existing within its borders during a time of complex problems and challenges.
“I am concerned that our best and bright youngsters will continue to leave for the EU’s best universities because our universities will continue to be cut off from the EU common higher education system. I am also worried that on the face of the shared reality of scarce qualified workforce, in healthcare, for example, cruel market decisions will continue to rule,” he said.
The prime minister continued that poor countries like Albania will continue to finance the studies of doctors and nurses who are then “swallowed away” by rich countries in the EU, “with nothing in return for us, but the bitter taste of the more of the same loss.”
He spoke about the emigration of qualified nurses and doctors, something he had previously played down.
Additionally, Rama said he fears that the new political format could be “as much of an illusion for the most vulnerable states within that space, as all the previous efforts made before.”
But, he said he is tragically optimistic and supports the initiative from the perspective of a Europe on the brink of war.
“The struggle for Europe cannot just be for some new policies to solve the problems that we have, but for a politics conducive to a new way of being together. This is why the promise of the new EPC is seducing,” Rama said.
He also noted the pro-EU spirit of the Western Balkans, which he said is “more present in those who are excluded from material Europe.”
Earlier this week, Rama co-published an op-ed with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Politico. They wrote of the support for the new community initiative, stating it should be a place where all European countries can discuss and devise solutions for issues including war, energy, and food security.
It also mentioned pan-European education and the upping of cooperation between universities. This ties into Rama’s previous call to include Albanian universities in the European system.
“The EPC presents us with a critical opportunity to face our shared challenges head-on. Europe must shape its own future, and the only way to do so is to work together as democratic members of the European family. Working together makes us stronger, safer and more prosperous,” the op-ed concluded.
