Tirana/Brussels, 07 June 2026, dtt-net.com – Protests against construction plans in two Albania coastal areas involving Qatari and Trump’s son-in-law son and daughter companies have spread in other towns on top of capital Tirana, but also in European towns by Albanian diaspora, while the European Commission is also warning the government of environmental and biodiversity impact concerns in other coastal areas too.
In Tirana protests continued on Sunday, were dozens of thousands rallied for eight consecutive day, but also abroad by the Diaspora in Brussels, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Milano, Bern, Barcelona, Oslo, Toronto, and New York.
Protesters are calling for resignation of the Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is supporting construction plans in Zvernec village of Vlora municipality by a Qatari investment company, and in Sazan island by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
Protesters cite environmental and biodiversity concerns in the two areas and want the government of the Prime Minister Edi Rama to withdraw recent law changes related to protected areas and abandon touristic resorts plans.
Protesters are also calling for repeal of law on “strategic investments” status, which was already granted in late 2024 to Kushner’s “Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC”, which is a subsidiary of “Kushner Realty LLC”, for construction of a luxury touristic resort in the Sazan Island in southern Albania.
Rama insists that both investments, in Zvernec and Sazan, will go ahead while concrete projects for two areas he says are still pending before final permit approval by his government.
The European Commission is also expressing its concerns over environmental and biodiversity impact of construction plans in coastal areas in the country, including in other areas of Vlora municipality.
A spokesperson of the EC told dtt-net.com that the EU’s executive body is “closely following the developments in the Pishë Poro – Nartë protected landscape.”
“We have already expressed our concerns to the Minister of the Environment [Sofjan Jaupaj] about the potential shortcomings of this project. The Minister committed that the constructions works have been suspended and that a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be carried out for the project in consultation with civil society,” spokesperson added, recalling that Albanian special prosecution against corruption and organized crime (SPAK) has already opened an investigation over the project “that reportedly extend beyond environmental concerns”.
Albania is candidate country for membership in the EU and has closed all 35 negotiating chapters in accession talks, and is expected to start closing first chapters before summer.
But the EC spokesperson recalled that Albania must respect EU rules on environment and biodiversity, thus expressing concerns over the law on strategic investments.
“Our concerns are not new. As already stated in our latest Enlargement report, the repeated extension of the law on strategic investments continues to raise concerns about possible environmental impacts, particularly in protected areas. In the EU accession process, as part the closing benchmarks for negotiating chapter 27 on environment and climate change, Albania is expected to align fully with EU legislation in this area, including the Birds and the Habitats Directives, to repeal the incompatible provisions (enacted through amendments to the law on Protected Areas), and to terminate the 2015 legislation on strategic investments,” spokesperson explained.
“In addition, to close chapter 27, Albania must demonstrate its capacity to manage future Natura 2000 sites, including conservation measures that prevent deterioration of habitats and species,” spokesperson said, calling Albanian government to “refrain from actions that could undermine the fulfilment of the closing benchmarks and expect the Albanian authorities to act without delay.”
In January this year, – 41 environmental organizations from 28 countries have called Rama’s government through a letter to suspend immediately any initiative for construction of luxury hotel resort area in Sazan island by Donald Trump’s son-in-law and declare Albania’s only island a national environmental protected area instead.
Organizations, of which most of them from European countries, say the project of Jared Kushner poses “serious risks to the biodiversity and critical habitats of the area”, according to the letter sent to the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Minister of Environment Sofjan Jaupaj, and published by the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) NGO, which is one of the signatories of the letter.