Prime Minister Edi Rama appeared publicly from the damaged premises of the College of Europe, using images of the destroyed office to reinforce his political accusation against the opposition. In his statement, the head of government presented the building as a symbol of what, according to the official version, happened during the protest a day earlier in Tirana.
Direct accusation against the opposition
Rama said the damage to the office was not connected to students, but to what he called the hand of the opposition. Speaking from the scene, he claimed that his political opponents are trying to block the country on its path toward the European Union and push it backward.
Political framing was also present: the prime minister linked the incident to the broader clash between the majority and the opposition, presenting the episode as an attack on the country’s European future.
The College of Europe as a political symbol
In his statement, Rama called the damaged office a symbol struck by the violence of the protest. He stressed that it is an institution linked to the European project and to the education of the younger generation.
This interpretation remains part of the government’s narrative of the event, while at this stage the public statement is focused more on political responsibility than on a verified investigative account of the specific perpetrators behind the damage.
Warning of legal consequences
The prime minister said that anyone who had a role in what he described as this mess would pay before the law. His message was direct: criminal responsibility, according to the government, will extend to every person involved in the acts of violence.
However, beyond the strong political language, it remains to be seen what concrete evidence law enforcement institutions will rely on and whether the investigation will separate individual responsibility from broader political accusations.
Message to students and the clash of narratives
Rama drew a clear distinction between students and those he accused of destroying the premises, saying that students are the future and that the government is ready to sit down with them for discussions.
The statement aims to separate the protest from the student community, but in the public sphere this remains part of the battle over the narrative: the government is reading the event as a political attack on the European course, while the specific perpetrators are expected to be identified through official procedures.
From the destroyed office, the prime minister chose harsh political language and a strong punitive message.
For now, the statement carries more political weight than it provides public evidence about who is actually behind the damage at the College of Europe.