Across the Balkans, Foreign-Backed Luxury Developments Cause Local Anger

Since Albania’s ‘Flamingo Revolution’ protests began in May, they have attracted worldwide attention and sparked debate within and outside the Balkans about high-profile investors’ mega-projects. The protests began in response to the proposed luxury tourism projects on Albania’s Sazan Island and the Zvernec protected coastline. The 1.4 and 4.7 billion euro investments are being led by Affinity Partners, an investment firm run by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump first visited Albania in 2021 and announced plans for the development in 2024. There has been much to anger locals about the projects, including comments Ivanka Trump made on a podcast where she referred to “discovering” Sazan Island and called the state-owned land a “private island”. Another more substantive issue is that the Albanian government amended the laws on protected areas on February 22, 2024, allowing five-star hotels to be built inside protected areas. This occurred a month before Kushner’s Albanian projects were announced. Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us