Overview
- Late May reports of excavators, fencing and bulldozers on the Vjosa‑Narta coast and Sazan Island prompted nightly nationwide protests using the pink flamingo as a symbol of wildlife loss.
- Albania’s anti‑corruption prosecutor SPAK has opened an investigation into 2024 legal changes and land deals that enabled the project, and the probe is ongoing.
- The European Commission has publicly warned the project could jeopardize closing Chapter 27 on environment for EU accession and said Albania should repeal recent protected‑area and strategic‑investment changes.
- The Albanian government and developers say construction is suspended while an environmental impact assessment is carried out, but Prime Minister Edi Rama continues to defend the investment and vows it will go ahead.
- Environmental groups and scientists point to flamingo habitats, monk seals and turtle nesting sites in the Vjosa‑Narta reserve, and analysts note a Serbia case in which a Kushner‑linked project later collapsed after corruption probes as a possible precedent to watch.