TIRANA, March 17, 2023 – College of Europe is one step closer to opening a campus in Tirana, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on March 16, announcing that funding had been found to establish the third campus of EU’s most important postgraduate educational institution in the Albanian capital.
College of Europe is headquartered in Bruges, Belgium, and has a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. Albania had been bidding to host a third campus after a proposal had been made by the Albanian government in December 2022 during the EU-Western Balkan Summit in Tirana, receiving support in principle by EU’s highest leaders.
“I am very happy that we have managed to find funding for the campus of the College of Europe here in Tirana. For me, this is a clear signal that membership is close and that is why I am very proud to declare — and we have discussed it with The College of Europe, I hope that they will also process it — that we will be able to start the admissions process as early as September of this year,” Commissioner Varhelyi said, adding that all was now needed is a nice site for the campus in Tirana.
He made the comments at a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
Prime Minister Rama said the news was “exceptionally important and significant” for Albania.
Mr. Rama said back in December, during the joint press conference with President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Mr. Michel, that the government had officially proposed bringing the prestigious EU institution to Albania and it was “fantastic” to “received support in principle from both the President of the Council and the President of the Commission.”
The opening of a third campus in Tirana will be historic, said Albert Rakipi, the chairman of the Albanian Institute for International Studies,
“This is great for Albania and its European future. It is a historic achievement,” Dr. Rakipi said. “AIIS has been involved since the inception of the idea to bring the College of Europe campus to Albania and is happy to see the efforts have resulted in the idea becoming a reality.”
He added that bringing the College of Europe to Tirana means bringing the first truly Western post-university educational institution since the creation of Albania’s modern state.
Rector of the College of Europe Federica Mogherini, EU’s former foreign policy chief, “welcomed the announced intention of the Commission to finance a new College of Europe campus in Tirana,” according to POLITICO. She added: “We are starting the preliminary work in view of submitting a detailed proposal.”
The College of Europe is the world’s first university institute of postgraduate studies and training in European affairs. It was founded in 1949 by leading European figures in the wake of the Hague Congress, which led to the creation of the European Movement. Its original campus is in Bruges, Belgium. A second Natolin (Warsaw), Poland campus of the college was established in 1992 ahead of Poland’s accession negotiations with the EU.
Tirana is now set to host the third campus of the venerated institution in the Western Balkans, hoping to bring the same vision that it had in late 40s Western Europe and early 90s Eastern Europe.
