Albania’s opposition leader Sali Berisha has publicly accused the European Union Ambassador in Tirana, Sylvio Gonzato, of acting as a conduit for what he calls “Edi Rama’s paid propaganda” within EU institutions. Berisha also criticized senior EU official Marta Kos, claiming that both representatives have adopted biased positions against the Albanian opposition.
According to Berisha, Ambassador Gonzato has allegedly briefed Members of the European Parliament with misleading narratives, including the claim that the leader of the Democratic Party is “not pro-Western” and that his political agenda aligns more closely with the American MAGA movement than with European integration.
Berisha denounced these statements as “fabrications and deliberate disinformation”, insisting that the Democratic Party has historically been the driving force behind Albania’s major integration milestones.
He emphasized that conservative values shared with certain international political movements are not anti-European, recalling that during his governance Albania adopted one of the most liberal fiscal systems in Europe with exceptionally low tax rates.
Berisha also rejected rumors suggesting that the U.S. political right encourages Albania to move away from the European Union, calling such claims “shameful propaganda spread by Edi Rama’s government.”
Despite the criticism directed at Kos and Gonzato, Berisha stated that the DP remains fully committed to Albania’s EU accession, accusing certain EU officials of enabling a political environment where, according to him, misinformation about the opposition is circulated at the highest diplomatic levels.