Marjana Koçeku at the EDP Congress: “Albania’s European future belongs to its people”
Independent Albanian MP Marjana Koçeku received warm and sustained applause on 24 October 2026 when she addressed the public session of the European Democratic Party Congress in Athens. Her testimony brought the hopes and determination of Albania’s protest movement into the room, in one of the most emotional moments of the Congress.
Gozi: “No prime minister is indispensable”
“Albania’s European future belongs to its people. It does not belong to Edi Rama,” said EDP Secretary General Sandro Gozi. “We stand with Marjana Koçeku, with the Flamingo movement and with young Albanians demanding dignity, justice and political change. Rama must take responsibility for this crisis and step aside. No prime minister is indispensable, and no government can claim to represent a European future while refusing to listen to the people who will build it.”
“European integration must never become a political shield protecting a government from scrutiny,” Gozi added. “It means accountability, independent institutions and respect for fundamental freedoms. We cannot demand these standards in principle and look away when young Albanians ask for them in practice.”
Koçeku: “Young Albanians are not asking for privileges”
Koçeku described the demonstrations as the expression of a crisis that goes far beyond education. In her view, it is rooted in years of frustration over corruption, the lack of meritocracy and weak institutional accountability.
“Young Albanians are not asking for privileges. They are asking for a dignified future in their own country, where education creates opportunities, where merit matters more than political connections, where justice works equally for everyone, and where building a life does not necessarily mean leaving Albania,” she said.
On the calls for Rama’s resignation, she urged the government to recognise how deep the crisis is: “Political leadership must be accountable to citizens, and no government should consider itself indispensable. Albania’s democratic institutions and European future are more important than any political leader.”
She rejected attempts to present European integration as the achievement or political property of a single leader or government. It is a national aspiration, she said, that belongs to the Albanian people.
The right to protest peacefully
The right to peaceful protest and the protection of young demonstrators were central to her speech. “Violence is never the answer, whether it comes from protesters or from the police. But the state carries a greater responsibility because it holds the legal monopoly on the use of force. No young person should have to risk their safety simply for demanding a better future.”
The EDP reaffirmed its solidarity with Albania’s young people and with the Flamingo movement’s peaceful demands for transparency, accountability and democratic change. It also reaffirmed its firm support for Albania’s European future.
The EDP Congress in Athens
The public session was attended by 100 delegates from across Europe and more than 300 members of the Greek public. The Congress took place in Athens on 23 and 24 October under the theme “The Final Countdown – It’s Time for Europe”.
