Rama's white sneakers and doubts about the NATO summit in Tirana

While European leaders showed reluctance to confront Donald Trump's nervousness in Ankara, the NATO summit regarding Albania featured a significant contrast between what happened in front of the cameras and what was taking place behind closed doors.

In the foreground, a lively Edi Rama was seen, smiling like never before, who chose to appear in that toxic environment with white sneakers, making gestures ranging from attempted clowning to breaking protocol.

According to footage shared by the prime minister, during the family photo, while Rama was standing in the front row of the group wearing white sneakers, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte appears to be drawing Donald Trump's attention. The American president does not react at all.

Even before these moments, it is seen that Edi Rama descends a step below the others, making fun of his height.

Such episodes have been seen at other international meetings. They illustrate a way of doing politics that Edi Rama has cultivated for decades: the belief that attention and being a jerk is political capital and that symbolism like this one of white sneakers can replace, or at least cover up, the lack of results on essential issues.

But while the cameras were broadcasting Edi Rama's clownish gestures, the most prestigious international media were reporting a completely different news about Albania related to the Ankara summit.

Bloomberg writes that within NATO, there is serious discussion about the possibility that the alliance will abandon the practice of annual summits or postpone the next summit planned to be held in Tirana. According to sources cited by American media, one of the reasons is to avoid another public clash with Donald Trump. The other reason is directly related to Albania, which continues to be considered one of the countries with the lowest level of defense spending within the alliance.

According to Bloomberg's analysis, it is not very productive that on the one hand the summit where NATO seeks to demonstrate its determination to invest 5% of Gross Domestic Product in defense, was organized by a country that still remains significantly below this target. 

As a confirmation of this thesis, comes the fact that the final declaration of the Ankara summit does not mention the organization of the next summit in Albania, unlike the practice of previous years. In point 6 of the declaration it is written that:

"We express our gratitude for the generous hospitality that Turkey offered us. We look forward to our next meeting."

The wording is much more vague than the summit declarations of previous years. The Hague summit declaration (2025) explicitly stated that the next meeting would be held in Ankara, while the one in 2027 would be held in Albania.

A few days ago, Reuters had reported the same line. Citing a NATO diplomat, a European official and several sources involved in the discussions, the agency wrote that the Trump administration and dissatisfaction among some allies over Albania’s low spending levels have called into question the organization of the summit in Tirana. One of the sources explained that there is a fear that Donald Trump could use a summit in Albania to publicly attack countries that are not meeting defense objectives, producing another communications crisis for the alliance.

Euronews also reached the same conclusion. According to its sources, Albania's absence from Ankara's draft declaration is a political message. NATO, according to this report, is putting pressure on Tirana to accelerate the increase in military spending if it wants to remain the host country of the summit.

Thus, it should be understood that the Ankara summit did not bode well for Albania, because our country risks losing the chance to host the NATO summit in 2027, but a concern for Edi Rama in the meantime was the fact that the white sneakers did not attract the necessary attention./ Lapsi.al