Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister needs coaching on public statements.

On Januray the 15th, 2026 the current Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was being interviewed by a Greek-American journalist in Abu Dhabi, during the Sustainable Development Summit. What followed was an episode which highlights how context, humor, and selective media framing can quickly escalate into diplomatic tension.

Speaking directly to the moderator, Rama remarked that Greeks tend to "underestimate others" because they believe they hold a "monopoly on philosophy" and view themselves as the "direct heirs of Plato and Aristotle—but you are not." The exchange escalated when the moderator mentioned a €1 billion investment project in Albania. Rama interjected, correcting that the figure was actually "over €1 billion," then added another jab: "You estimate like Greeks do. When you talk about your own money, you add three zeroes. When you talk about the money of others, you remove three zeroes. That’s what you do." He wrapped up the comment with sarcasm, noting that this approach is "why the European Union loves you so much."

Naturally the Greek media and social media went on fire. However, following the backlash over his remarks about the Greeks , Albania’s PM Edi Rama clarified that his comments were intended as humor, expressing surprise at the scale of the controversy. He pushed back against Greek media outlets, accusing them of a “public attack fueled by nationalist passion.” He insisted his comments were “steeped in friendly humor” and taken out of context. To reassure his critics, Rama added, “I have not the slightest doubt that Plato and Aristotle are Greek philosophers and that Ancient Greece is the cradle of European civilization.” However, he ended with a sharp retort, stating that, while he respects Greek culture and the Prime Minister, he refuses to accept that those attacking him with “nationalist fervor” are the rightful descendants of such great philosophers.

In an interview with the Greek television station Alpha, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis adopted a calm and pragmatic approach. He stated:“I have known Mr. Rama for many years. He has a particular way of expressing himself and sometimes things slip out that he should not say. This time he said something inappropriate and understood his mistake. I take into account the correction he made, and it is better to leave the issue behind us.”

Personally I think that both Mr Rama and Albania as a country, behave like individuals with inferiority complexes; yet they should not really! The "jokes" were made by the Albanian PM towards a Greek-American journalist if I may add, an American with Greek ancestry, who may not be really aware of what is going on latelly in Albania.

His Greek ancestry is not an invitation or an excuse to make jokes about Greece as a country, especially when they are unprovoked. Nothing that the journalist asked, invited the "humour" of Mr Rama. And to make matters worse, the Albanian PM in his "clarification" stated that he has no doubt that Plato and Aristotle were Greek, yet he did not exactly disputed that in his comments towards the journalist, rather that the modern Greek population has anything to do with them. Something that he expressed again when he complained about the backclash he caused, by refusing to accept that those attacking him with “nationalist fervor” are the rightful descendants of such great philosophers.

One can sense the complex and envy in his words, like for example the "joke" on why the E.U loves Greece so much, when Greeks in general and as a nation, estimate like the way we do. When we talk about our own money, we add three zeroes. When we talk about the money of others, we remove three zeroes.

Stereotypes in general are not a good thing. Mr Rama should remember the famous film "Taken", and how the villains in this movie were an Albanian mafia, trafficking girls across Europe for sexual exploitation. It is not any of us Greeks that are to be blamed for this indeed very unfair portrayal and sterotype that the Albanian people must carry. Our Balkan neighbors must do some soul searching to figure out why and how this came to be, plus find ways to undo this bad image that exists for them across Europe and the rest of the world. But this won't happen by attacking the Greek people and their history, but by proving to the rest of Europe what does Albania has to offer as a nation; and it has-a lot.

Clearly the Greek side over-reacted and unleashed scathing attacks against Rama and the Albanian people in general, which serve as nothing more rather than releasing internal anger and frustration, and as Mr Rama said a misplaced "nationalist passion". However I understand where this comes from and why my compatriots reacted in such way.

We too had to deal with unfair and misplaced stereotypes in Europe, for over a decade now since the Eurozone economic crisis. The Greeks had also to suffer humiliation, economic suffering and injustice to this day, and that made us oversensitive to any such comments and jokes like that of Mr Rama.

In addition, there are numerous social media accounts from our neighboring countries like Albania, Turkey and North Macedonia, spreading false claims, irredentism and propaganda about Greek history, borders, nationality, ethnic identity and the very "jokes" that Mr Rama made; that Greeks are not descended from our ancient ancestors. All of which are false and it has been proven that Greeks are indeed related to their famous forefathers, although understandably not exclusively. You see nationalism and its "passion" goes both ways and is not confined only within the Greek borders. Our Balkan neighbors also suffer a great deal from it.

Now, nobody I know of Greek origin, wakes up in the morning, looks himself in the mirror and boasts about his ancient heritage. We got lots of other problems to solve in our everyday lives, plus as a modern nation. But when it comes to a continuous belittlement, disputes that become toxic, humiliation by our EU partners, scorn by Western media etc, then yes we will answer back just like Mr Rama did when he found himself in hot waters after his comments, and his compatriots that rallied to support him on social media.

Greece was among the first countries, together with Italy, which opened its borders and welcomed thousands of Albanian immigrants when their country was faced with the collapse of communism, gave them work and helped them to rebuilt their lives. I worked with many of them in my youth and my experiences were largely positive. Additionally, those immigrants contributed hugely in the Greek society and economy, something that is undisputed to this day. Not that there were no problems in this new reality that both countries found themselves in.

Greek media fanned the Greek "nationalistic passion," just like today and in every country, by blaming all crimes on "foreign born" criminals. As if suddenly the Greek ones disappeared and migrants from Romania, Albania and Georgia took their place. However, Albanian criminal gangs did indeed commit lots of crimes back then, that is something that cannot be disputed; just the notion that every immigrant in Greece, especially from Albania, was enganging in such activities.

Our two nations have long history of living and working together, sometimes fighting each other or finding themselves on opposing sides. But that is true for all European nations. The difference is, that once in the EU- whose role was originally conceived as to abolish all wars and animosity among the European nations, such sentiments should fade away. A member of the block cannot engage in such demeanor towards another EU member state; especially its Prime Minister who speaks and represents the nation diplomatically abroad, and is not some internet Albanian troll with a fake account on social media, that scorns the Greek people and history in such manner.

That is why many Greeks like myself, see very favorably Albania's EU accession, when the rest of Europe is ready to take them in. It is not Greece that is sceptical about Albania's EU aspirations, rather the rest of the continent which suffers from expansion fatigue, plus each individual member state is faced with their own economic woes lately. You see Mr Rama, the EU does not "love us" more than they love Albania, rather we were only lucky to get in the club, before thigs started to feel sour in EU on expansion.

Where in EU's recent treatment of Greece you whitnessed that European leaders and media are being favorable towards us to have so much envy and an underlined complex towards our country, that in any opportunity which arises, you make "jokes" towards an American citizen of Greek ancestry? Which begs the question then, why you spoke so favorably for Italy and its Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to whom you even kneeled to welcome her in a recent summit in Tirana? Are the Italians true descendants of the Romans, or has Italy done more than Greece to help fleeing Albanian citizens back in the '90s, or maybe their treatment of Albanian refugees was better than how we treated those who crossed into our country en masse?

Perhaps Italy is more vocal and supportive towards the Albanian EU accession than Greece? No matter what the reasons are, such comments do not do any favors to Albania as a country, the Greek-Albanian relations that should be as close as those you got with Italy, or any EU aspirations that your country may have. It is not proper or suitable for a Prime Minister of a country to make unfortunate "jokes" towards an allied nation in NATO, hopefully an EU partner, just because and American journalist that had a Greek surname, asked you a few wrong questions. Albania deserves better than that.

Will the rift among the Western alliance be fixed, but most importantly, should it?

I have always been a pro-European and believed wholeheartedly that Europe should one day distance itself from USA, forging new trade agreements and alliances with all emerging economies and new "powers" of this world. It is in its own best interests, that our continent should be preparing for the inevitable; a multi-polar world.

However, the way I envisioned that happening was that one day, a gifted and visionary group of European leaders would arise and see that Europe cannot forever remain a follower, a sidekick of US interests. That it would be us that would break our dependency on US "protection" and weaning ourselves off their money, military support and influence.

Well, clearly as we have seen since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, Europe lacks good leadership and it is increasingly descending into irrelevence and economic decline. To my surprise, it was in fact America under Donald Trump, that created the greatest rift among the traditional alliance between USA and Europe, plus even Canada. We can say that he gave us a "good kick up the backside" as we say in Ireland.

For the past month, US President Trump was insisting on a most absurd idea, that Greenland should become a US territory... Greenland; an autonomous territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO country and an ally of USA. An ally demanding from an allied nation to cede some of its territory, because of US "national security" reasons, or most correctly the whims of an increasingly mentally unstable US President"

That of course would not be the first time that something like that happened in the NATO "alliance", as Turkey's President Erdogan was threatening Greece for years on Twitter (now X platform), with a bombing of Athens or annexation of Greek islands in typical Trump way, plus the two countries have been in dispute over the Aegean for ages, as Erdogan pushes for Turkey’s ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine. A Turkish "wet-dream" literally, that sees Greece for whatever reason, accepting to cede some of its Greek islands to Turkey. What did the rest of Europe and America do to support Greece? Nothing basically, they just sat there asking for the two countries to "work things out," for now... Until the next time Erdogan wakes up on the wrong side of his bed.

Protests broke up in Denmand and Greenland, to oppose to Trump's annexation plan for the Danish territory while the EU was faced with yet another tariff threating tirade from Trump. Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland, fellow NATO members that have expressed solidarity with Denmark in its refusal to yield to Mr. Trump’s demands, would be subject to 10 percent tariff. "If those nations do not relent", Donald Trump added, the rate will increase to 25 percent on June 1, “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

In an effort to show support for Denmark and send a message to Trump, a number of European countries decided to send troops to Greenland, in a most bizarre development in NATO history, when we saw alliance members ganging up to protect a territory from another. Somehow I felt justified, when for years I was supporting the view that while Europe is so keen to fend off Russia in the East, it totally made itself vulnerable and exposed at it's own back. We should not be as dependent on USA anymore, simply because as we see in their recent behaviour, they are a country that is going through its own soul searching and internal struggles, which consequently will only use Europe in order to solve them and maintain its grip on our continent and the rest of the world. Somehow "I told you so," never felt so good.

On the other hand, Greenlanders and the Danes, should be a bit more grateful and happy, that they at least got the 15 German soldiers among others from Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK. This is far more than Greece ever got from its "allies" to showcase their support against Erdogan. Now what would this mini force do against America, if it decided to invade Greenland and take the island by force, is another question. Possibly the move was only symbolic. Besides, Germany withdrew its military after just two days, in an effort to explore the conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region.

And all that chaos and fiasco, just because Trump wanted Greenland for its natural resources, which include rare earth minerals, uranium and iron, plus also potential significant oil and gas reserves.Trump has focused on such resources elsewhere - including in his dealings with Ukraine - but denies they are behind his desire for Greenland. However he has repeatedly described the threat he perceives from Russia and China in the region (excuse me, what?). In one Truth Social post, he wrote: "Nato has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that 'you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.' Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!"

That ridiculous claim, that America "needs" Greenland for national security and to prevent Russia and China from taking it, was echoed by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, obviously in an efford to appease Trump and find common ground to solve this impasse among the NATO alliance. However it does not make it any less nonsensical. Greenland is a Danish territory, a country which is in NATO. If for whatever reason China (??) or Russia- which NATO leaders mock that it cannot even take Ukraine after 4 years of war, attempted to invade and take over it is clear that they would have to deal with NATO. If they tried to take over by trade agreements, they would after all have to come to an accord with Denmark too, as although autonomous, Greenland is heavily relying on Denmark and is heavily subsidised by it, to support its economy.

Besides, America has already operated Pituffik Space Base - formerly known as Thule Air Base - since World War Two. The base currently monitors for missiles. They could just secretly and quietly seek to settle another base there or enhance what they already have, in agreement with Denmark and Greenland if they worried so much about NATO security, instead of staging all this parody which made NATO look ridiculous and an utter joke to the world stage. As Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned, a U.S. invasion of Greenland would spell the end of NATO. And it really should, if this happens again.

As of today, Monday the 26th of January 2026, Trump eased off Greenland threats. After negotiations among NATO leaders last week in the Swiss town of Davos and the World Economic Forum, it has been speculated from sources that the US stationing agreement for Greenland is to be reworked and take into account the planned US "Golden Dome" missile defense system that Trump wants to build. The USA should also have a say in investment projects from other countries in Greenland, plus there are also plans to increase the involvement of European NATO states in the Arctic region.

In other words, USA pushes for its own agenda and muzzles in on who will be doing business with who in Europe, just like they did many times before. Their economy is in trouble, their empire needs to expand in order to survive, thus Greenland, Venezuela, Iran are happening now. They want to install more missiles abroad no matter the consequences for others, and then both USA and its "colony" of Europe will cry foul if Russia and China do the same to countries they see as important to them. When will Europe refuse to be manipulated and controlled in such way by USA? Just because our leaders are used to this status since WW2, in which America is the protector and "big daddy" of our continent and we are afraid to invest in our own defense, (who will attack Europe by the way, Russia which "can't take Ukraine after 4 years of war", or perhaps America which also acts as our protector?) and finally map our own destiny to become independent from everyone.

And this reluctance is so ingrained in the European political elites, that the current NATO Chief Mark Rutte today made a statement in the European Parliament of all places, that Europe cannot defend itself without the United States. "If anyone thinks here again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US -- keep on dreaming. You can't," he shamelessly declared, and he went on to describe that EU countries would have to double defence spending from the five percent NATO target agreed last year to 10 percent and spend "billions and billions" on building nuclear arms.

Such a brown-tongue approach, so submissive and with lack of vision and honesty explains clearly why Europe will always be an underdog to the US. We do not need to invest to build nuclear arms to stand on our own accord Mr Teflon-Mark, just coordinate and develop what we already got. France has already nuclear weapons. Europe can never have its own foreign policy, or any other independent policy for that matter, if it keeps relying on USA for its defense. But Mr Rutte is yet another failed and scandal ridden European politician, that after boot-licking America and other European institutions controlled by them, found a new job that is designed to keep Europe under the influence of America for ever.

It is a case that the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said it best in Davos. He described of a rupture in the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality, where geopolitics, where the large, main power, geopolitics, is submitted to no limits, no constraints. On the other hand, other countries, especially intermediate powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that encompasses their values, such as respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the various states. The power of the less power starts with honesty.

For decades, countries like Canada (and cleary most of Europe) prospered under what we called the rules-based international order. We joined its institutions, we praised its principles, we benefited from its predictability. And because of that, we could pursue values-based foreign policies under its protection.We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.

This fiction was useful, and American hegemony, in particular, helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes. So, we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality. This bargain no longer works. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination.

This is the first time the truth is being said by a Western politician and leader, so openly and clearly. Sadly, these words do not come from the mouth of a European, all of them who still opt to boot lick America in a desperate effort to maintain the dying status-quo. It is a shameful and disappointing observation, surely painful to admit. But it is a promising one, since a country like Canada decided to call things by their name. This fiasco is an opportunity for Europe to wake up and take action, but by the looks of it, they will fail once again.