Brussels presses Albania as Kushner resort threatens to flout EU environmental law

BRUSSELS, June 9 - The European Commission has urged Albania to act without delay to ensure it is aligned with EU environmental legislation if it wants to accede to the bloc, a Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday, commenting on a planned Kushner-backed luxury resort.

On Monday, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told Reuters in an interview that his country will press ahead with a luxury resort planned by U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka Trump on a remote stretch of Balkan coast despite protests over its environmental impact.

The protests have been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution because the stretch of coast is a migratory pitstop for the birds. They have widened into broader opposition to aspects of Rama's 13-year tenure.

The 27-member EU has said it could admit new members, including Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine by 2030, but that depends on alignment with EU laws, including on the environment.

"Albania should refrain from action that could undermine the fulfilment of the closing benchmark, and we expect the Albanian authorities to act without delay," spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.

"We are in contact with the Albanian authorities on this issue," he added.

Faced with protests over the last week in Tirana and on the southern coast, where the resort has been proposed, Rama played down the environmental concerns and said an environmental impact assessment would be completed.

"We are very proud of what we have done for the wildlife in Albania. The European Commission has no reason to doubt our firm will to protect whatever has to be protected when it comes to wildlife and nature," he said.

Kushner's Affinity Partners' company, which is set to build the resort, has not responded to Reuters requests for comment. REUTERS