Leaders from across the continent gathered in Tirana on May 16 for the sixth European Political Community (EPC) summit, as Albania took centre stage in a high-level forum focused on European security and economic resilience. 

The summit, attended by 47 heads of state and government as well as top EU officials, took place in a Western Balkan country that is increasingly seen as one of the frontrunners for European Union accession.

Fresh from a resounding re-election victory earlier in the week, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama embraced his role as host with characteristic flair. Wearing a black suit with white trainers, Rama dropped to his knees in mock adoration to greet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and embraced French President Emmanuel Macron.

A video screened at the opening ceremony offered another lighter moment, depicting AI-generated baby versions of each attending leader saying “Welcome to Albania” in their native languages. This may have prompted EU Council President Antonio Costa to thank the Albanian prime minister for his “warm, creative and inspiring welcome”. 

But the humour gave way to weighty discussions as leaders turned to Europe’s mounting challenges – from Russia’s war in Ukraine and economic security to democratic resilience and the future of EU enlargement.

Security and Ukraine dominate the agenda

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a stark message about the bloc’s need to remain vigilant and united in the face of Russian aggression. She announced that the EU is preparing a new package of sanctions targeting key pillars of the Russian economy.

“Main elements of this package will be, for example: sanctions on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2; further listings of vessels in the shadow fleet; a lower oil price cap; and more sanctions on the Russian financial sector. Because we want peace, and it is time to seriously engage on that,” she said. 

She added: “Today, Europe is awake – wide awake.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressing the summit, called for stronger international action in response to stalled negotiations with Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to attend a planned peace summit in Ankara. 

“If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can’t deliver any results today, the world must respond,” Zelenskiy told the summit. “There needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions against Russia’s energy sector and banks. Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made.”

President of the European Council António Costa spoke of the undermining of the rules-based international order “from many sides”.

He referenced the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the “relentless attack” on multilateralism and the turning of international trade and economic cooperation into "an instrument of power and pressure”. 

“Europe has an enormous stake in all of these areas. So our continent needs to join forces,” he said, according to an EU Council statement. 

“Europe must succeed in bringing a just and lasting peace to Ukraine … Europe must also invest more in its own defence, because we have learned that peace without defence is an illusion.”

Rama calls for broader vision of peace

In his address, Rama urged European leaders to think beyond military security.

“The dream of permanent peace has been replaced by the nightmare of permanent war,” he said in his opening address to the summit, according to a transcript on the Albanian government website. 

“External aggression, internal fragmentation, the ghosts of imperial myths, the shifting of geopolitical alliances, the instability of global trade … but I believe that there is no better moment than this to remind us that while we have rightly thought of a Europe of resistance, of defence and of new military capabilities, we must not forget the other Europe, the Europe of enlightenment, of human reason and of the struggle for a permanent peace.” 

Approaching EU accession

During the summit, Italy’s Meloni declared unequivocal support for Albania’s path to membership. “We are gathered here in Tirana to build our shared future – our European future – in an era of mutual trust, with the goal of creating prosperity,” she said. “If we want to build the new Europe in a new world, we cannot do it without the Western Balkans, without these people, without these states.”

Meloni added: “Albania is Europe, like Italy. This is an important moment for the Albanian nation and for all of us. We are taking a step forward in the process of reuniting Europe.”

Rama, who campaigned on a pledge to take Albania into the EU by 2030, has seen his chances improve as momentum for expansion returns to Brussels following years of fatigue. Albania and Montenegro are now viewed as the most likely candidates to join the bloc by the end of the decade.

The EPC was launched in 2022 in response to the geopolitical upheaval triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and includes both EU members and other European states.