Green MEPs to visit Vjosa-Narta amid resort row

A group of Green MEPs will visit Albania’s protected Vjosa-Narta area from 29 June to 1 July.

They are expected to meet local residents, environmental groups and government representatives.

The visit comes as the area remains at the centre of a dispute over tourism development and environmental protection.

MEP Tineke Strik said Albania’s future was in the European Union, but that accession must go together with stronger environmental protection, rule of law, anti-corruption work and transparency.

Strik said Albania’s future should be decided by its citizens, not by what she called American billionaires close to Donald Trump.

She said the country should protect its natural assets instead of allowing short-term profit to damage biodiversity.