Albania's 'flamingo revolution' comes to Brussels

Summary

Brussels Playbook Podcast
Episode: Albania's ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Comes To Brussels
Date: June 8, 2026
Host: Zoya Sheftalovich (POLITICO chief EU correspondent)
Guest: Nick Winnicker (Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into three key topics shaping Brussels and the EU landscape: the ongoing struggle over airline passenger rights, insights into Jordan Bardella's possible impact on the EU if he wins the French presidency, and updates on Albania’s “flamingo revolution”—environmental protests connected to a luxury resort project. The discussion is swift, conversational, and blends insider insights with lively banter.

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Airline Passenger Rights: ‘Landing the Plane’ on Compensation Reforms

Key Points:

• The EU’s transport ministers are meeting to discuss possible changes to passenger protection rules, specifically around compensation for delayed flights and rights around carry-on luggage.
• Negotiations have stalled repeatedly; last week’s 16-hour session ended with no agreement.

Main Discussion:

• Current rules: If a flight is delayed by three hours or more, passengers get between €250-€600, depending on delay length and distance.
• Problems:
  • Only 38% of eligible passengers actually receive compensation, partly due to complex processes (Zoya, 02:25).
  • Airlines say the system adds about €8 to each ticket (Zoya, 02:49).
  • Airlines pushing to extend compensation eligibility to four-hour delays for intra-EU flights and up to six hours on extra-EU trips (Nick, 03:13, 03:23).

Proposed Changes:

• Automatic notification: Airlines must send a compensation claim link within 48 hours (Nick, 03:43).
• Carry-on policy: Basic fare should include a carry-on trolley free of charge if a deal is struck (Zoya, 04:56).

Tensions:

• Consumer groups: “Not enough.”
• Airlines: “Too much.”

Memorable Quotes:

• Nick Winnicker [01:14]: “You got to stop charging for the carry on trolleys. That is a crime and you need to fix it.”
• Zoya Sheftalovich [02:25]: “…according to a joint statement from consumer campaigners, only around about 38% of eligible passengers are actually receiving that compensation in the end.”

Status:

• If no new agreement by June 15, everything reverts to current rules.

Timestamps:

• 00:27 – Zoya introduces the issue
• 01:30 – Nick explains the regulatory history
• 04:56 – Zoya confirms status of the carry-on policy

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French Far-Right Politics: What if Jordan Bardella Wins?

Key Points:

• Focus on Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally, who’s now the front-runner for the French presidency.
• Bardella models himself after Italy’s Giorgia Meloni: working with Brussels but from a nationalist perspective.

Main Discussion:

• Bardella’s National Rally:
  • Emulating Meloni by being “constructive” with the EU, distancing from Germany’s controversial AfD, and outlining mainstream policy positions (Nick, 06:27).
  • Still, concerns remain over possible obstructionist tactics reminiscent of former Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (Zoya, 07:25).
  • A party insider: “If Orban always uses his veto and Meloni uses negotiations, we will do both.” (Zoya, 07:44)
• Shift in European Parliament alignments:
  • Possibility of National Rally leaving the Patriots (Russia-soft group) for the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, Meloni’s group), which would bring greater mainstream influence but internal competition (Zoya & Nick, 08:30-09:37).

Memorable Quotes:

• Nick Winnicker [05:46]: (On Bardella fandom) “An expert wondering how that sentence was going to finish. But we got that you landed the plane.”
• Zoya Sheftalovich [07:44]: “If Orban always uses his veto and Maloney uses negotiations, we will do both. So that's an interesting little insight…”

Timestamps:

• 05:25 – Transition to Bardella topic
• 06:27 – Nick on Bardella’s strategy
• 07:25 – Zoya on Orban/Meloni comparison
• 08:52 – Nick on EU Parliament groups

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Albania’s Flamingo Revolution: Protests Ripple Through Brussels

Key Points:

• Context: Massive protests over a Kushner-backed luxury “eco resort” on unspoiled Sazan Island, with environmental concerns as key driver.
• The ‘flamingo’ has become the symbol—reflecting the bird species under threat.

Main Discussion:

• Details:
  • Resort project led by Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law), with up to €1.4 billion from Qatari and local investors (Nick, 10:22).
  • The island hosts 200 migratory bird species, sea turtles, and seals (Zoya, 11:09).
  • In 2024, Albanian law was quietly changed to facilitate such projects—activists say without proper consultation or transparency (Zoya, 11:09).
• Protests have grown, spreading from Tirana to Brussels, Berlin, Milan, Florence, New York, and more (Zoya, 11:58).
• EU’s stance: The European Commission is monitoring the situation and suggests this could impact Albania’s EU accession (Zoya, 12:53).
• Allegations and Rebuttals:
  • Albanian PM Edi Rama alleges anti-Semitism and Iranian influence in the protests (Zoya, 13:39).
  • Protesters say this is about rule of law and the environment—not personalities (Zoya, 14:07).

Memorable Quotes:

• Nick Winnicker [10:22]: “The protests are against this proposed luxury eco resort that's backed by Donald Trump's son in law, real estate mogul in his own right, Jared Kushner...”
• Zoya Sheftalovich [12:41]: “...if Albania doesn't follow the rules, it might mean that it's not actually ready to join the eu, even though it's kind of seen as a front runner at the moment.”
• Nick Winnicker [13:39]: “It was very interesting that the Prime Minister, Eddie Rama, really expressed some irritation in his interview with our colleague Jacob Wiseman.”

Timestamps:

• 10:22 – Introduction to the Albanian protest story
• 11:09 – Why the island matters
• 12:53 – Impact on Albania’s EU prospects
• 13:39 – Rama’s claims and media narratives

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Listener Engagement: What’s Your Favorite Cocktail?

Additional Segment:

• Some lighthearted audience interaction about listeners’ favorite cocktails following last week’s mention of the “Spritz Misto”—Aperol Spritz with Campari (Zoya, 15:10–end).

Timestamps:

• 15:10 – Cocktail discussion

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Standout Moments & Quotes

• Nick on Carry-On Fees [01:14]: “You got to stop charging for the carry on trolleys. That is a crime and you need to fix it.”
• French National Rally official on their approach [07:44]: “If Orban always uses his veto and Maloney uses negotiations, we will do both.”
• Zoya on EU Accession [12:53]: "If Albania doesn't follow the rules, it might mean that it's not actually ready to join the EU..."

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Key Timestamps for Major Topics

• 00:27: Airline passenger protection debate opens
• 05:25: French politics and Jordan Bardella analysis
• 10:22: Introduction to Albania’s flamingo protests
• 12:53: EU’s response to Albanian developments
• 15:10: Listener cocktail favorites

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Conclusion

This brisk episode offers an essential primer for anyone looking to stay ahead on Brussels’ biggest stories—mixing hard political analysis, policy updates, and a dash of humor.
Let POLITICO know your thoughts, as Zoya and Nick are always keen for listener feedback.

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Transcript

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[Zora Shiftilovich]

Good morning. It's Monday, June 8, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast. The vibe in Brussels today is turbulent as the EU struggles to land the plane on new consumer protections for airline passengers.

[Nick Winnicker]

Sorry, folks, that was double metaphor alert.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Also on the pod, if Jordan Bardella wins the French presidential election, how would he approach the eu? We hear from some insiders and the flamingo revolution has come to Brussels. We explain the recent protests in Albania and what the pink bird has to do with us here in town. I'm Zora Shiftilovich and with me today is Nick Winnicker, our chief foreign affairs correspondent. Hey, Nick.

[Nick Winnicker]

Hi.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

We're talking about flying today. What would be like the one thing that you think would make flying tolerable for you?

[Nick Winnicker]

I think you got to stop charging for the carry on trolleys. That is a crime and you need to fix it.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

You've been dinged recently. I saw you get dinged when we were flying together to the Czech Republic.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah. I didn't get the memo that now the basic fare does not include carry on. What's going on here?

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Well, let me tell you what's going on, Nicholas Vinica, because that is our first topic of the day. So today the EU's transport ministers are meeting and they are going to be talking about all sorts of things. One of the things they're talking about in the any other business item on the agenda is this bitter struggle that's happening at the moment around the EU's protections for airline passengers. Last week we had these negotiations. They've been dragging on and on and they fell apart again. Nick, what's going on?

[Nick Winnicker]

The issue is we're talking about amending the Passengers Bill of Rights. Essentially, the European Commission proposed to revamp the system in 2013, but those proposals stalled until last year when countries came up with a new common position. And a big issue they're talking about now is how much compensation they should get for delays and how easy it should be to get that compensation in the event of a delay.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Yeah, that's right. Now, this is going to touch all of our listeners at, I expect, because lots and lots of people flying around all the time Currently there is this rule that says that if your flight is delayed by three hours or more, you get compensation. And that ranges from around about 250 Euro to 600 Euro, depending on the length of the delay, etc. But at the moment it's quite difficult for the passengers to figure out how to get that compensation. And in fact, according to a joint statement from consumer campaigners, Only around about 38% of eligible passengers are actually receiving that compensation in the end. But meanwhile, on the airline side, they're saying they're being forced to spend loads of money on this compensation system and that's adding around about €8 extra to the cost of every ticket for every passenger. So they're saying it's too much, Consumer advocates are saying it's not enough.

[Nick Winnicker]

So here's what's on the table and you can decide whether this is good or bad. But the idea is to extend the compensation threshold to at least four hours.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

So that means if your flight is delayed by three hours, you wouldn't get compensation anymore, but four hours and more

[Nick Winnicker]

you would if it's a flight that is with it less than 3,500 kilometers or within the EU. And it would climb to six hours for flights outside of the EU. Now, on the other side, airlines would have a new obligation to send passengers a link to a compensation claim form within 48 hours of the scheduled arrival time. Now, can we say this is watering down the rights of passengers compared to what existed before?

[Zora Shiftilovich]

I think in some ways yes, in some ways no. So I think it's strengthening some things by having this claim form be more obvious. So maybe people might actually get their compensation.

[Nick Winnicker]

Why not just add that?

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Well, Nick, you don't get something for nothing. Look, we won't go into the various beats of this negotiation that's been happening, but suffice to say, there were 16 hour talks on one particular day last week. Everyone had sort of reached this compromise agreement and then it all fell apart Friday night at the last minute. Some countries are saying this is not enough compensation, it's not enough sort of consumer friendly stuff. Others are saying this is too much for them and basically it's all just a mess. There is also one other element. Now this takes us to your trolley complaint, because one of the things that they did manage to agree before it all fell apart was that airlines should have to, when they give you a price for a basic fare, that price should include a carry on trolley that you can have without having to sort of think about, oh, how much extra is this going to cost.

[Nick Winnicker]

Amen.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

That would be the default status. And if you didn't want to bring a trolley, then you might be able to get a discount. An airline might give you a discount. So that was, that was part of that agreement. But again, we don't know if that's going to end up happening at all because if they can't get their act together by June 15th and agree to a common position on all of this stuff, it all reverts back to the status quo. No trolleys, but compensation after three hours.

[Nick Winnicker]

So, yeah, that would be baked in as of this summer. But look out for any breakthrough.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

There's absolutely. And folks, listeners out there, what changes to airline policy do you want to see? Let us know. Tell us your wish list. Nick, I am really happy to have you on this podcast because you are a bit of a Jordan Bardella slash National Rally head. I mean, not, not a fan but

[Nick Winnicker]

an expert wondering how that sentence was going to finish. But we got that you landed the plane.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Oh, Nick, we've already finished with the plane. Puns. Time for French puns. Listen, the French election, we know it's happening early next year in April. Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far right party National Rally, looks like he's the front runner to win, unless Marine Le Pen manages to win a court case and is able to run, in which case we might have some questions. But it looks like Jordan Bardella and Politico has been speaking with officials from the far right around the EU to understand what approach they might take if Bardella does actually win. And that's our colleague Max Guerriero who's been making those calls. So what are they saying?

[Nick Winnicker]

So the blueprint for Bardella National Rally seems to be Italy's Giorgia Meloni. So, you know, she's been someone who's positioned herself as willing to work with the eu. She's worked very closely with Von der Leyen, center right European People's Party to sort of become part of the mainstream. And Bardella is sort of modeling himself after Meloni as a constructive, let's say national right wing figure. He's also done unusual things such as praise German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz. And he's turned his back to the alternative for Deutschland, which is a controversial right wing German party. And he started to lay down some more detailed policy plans that look a lot like what is being drawn up in Berlin, Rome and Warsaw, especially on things like migration and deregulation. And when you get into other areas, like anything that would be building something in the eu. It's. It looks more like the classical National Rally.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Yeah. But there are still fears that what Europe might get is less Georgia Maloney and more Victor Orban, who's that former Hungarian Prime Minister who's gone now. But he acted as a big blocker in the eu. And Bardella's own camp is not actually ruling this out. In fact, one French official said from the National Rally said if Orban always uses his veto and Maloney uses negotiations, we will do both. So that's an interesting little insight into what the plan is. It might be a bit of a mix between Maloney and Orban.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah. And I think, you know, the real kind of wedge issue here for the National Rally is Russia and has always been. And the question is, well, we talk about this veto. It's an abstract issue. The question is, what would they do on further assistance for Ukraine? What would they do on enlargement? They're still kind of leaving that a little bit, a little bit open. But what's really interesting is the. What you're going to talk about next about where they might fit in Parliament, which could suggest perhaps a changing of the line there from sort of pro Russian, historically in the National Rally to something different now.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Yeah, that's right, Nick. I mean, the thing is, currently the national rally are in the Patriots group, which is the European Parliament's far right group. That's quite Russia soft. Soft on Russia, not a. Not a Ukraine backing group. But now there's talk about potentially them jumping ship from the Patriots and joining the European conservative and reformists, which is Giorgio Maloney's group.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah. And this is. This would be a really fascinating change because while the Patriots remains kind of far right and controversial, or in some case sort of toxic to work with, the ECR is much more compatible with the mainstream. So what some of the people have been telling Max here is that they're concerned that if they're staying the Patriots and they can't work with the epp, the mainstream conservatives of Von der Leyen and so on. But it's obviously not a. Resolved Question 1. National Rally MEP said it's a bad idea because Maloney's camp in Bardella's camp could end up fighting for dominance, supremacy inside the ecr. And one thing we know about nationalists is they often don't tend to work very well together in sort of transnational settings.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Yeah. So it's a question of if they join the ecr, they're having to battle for the top of the group with the. The Maloney's brothers of Italy, if they stay in the patriots, they're top dogs in the patriots. But the flip side of it is that they don't have as much power because the EPP will not work with them in the same way that they work with the ecr. So it's an interesting dilemma. Nick, third story today. It is about the flamingo revolution in Albania and we're talking about it on the Brussels Playbook podcast because even yesterday in Brussels there were big protests of Albania's against this resort that's being built in this unspoiled area on Suzanne Island.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah, I mean, this is a fascinating one. So the protests are against this proposed luxury eco resort that's backed by Donald Trump's son in law, real estate mogul in his own right, Jared Kushner, 2024. Kushner announced plans that his private equity firm was going to develop the this resort on Cezanne island off the coast of Albania with backing from Qatari's local investors, who would cost up to 1.4 billion euros. Now, having been down this road and in a back and forth with the Albanian PM over this very issue. So it's not a sale, it's a partnership with the Albanian government. But effectively what they're talking about is building a private eco resort for exceptionally wealthy people on, on this now uninhabited island.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Yeah. And that uninhabited island is, it's home to over 200 migratory bird species, including the flamingo of the aforementioned flamingo protests. And there's also seals, nesting sea turtles. So it's a beautiful unspoiled piece of non real estate currently. And basically there were these contentious changes on Albania's law on protected areas in 2024 which paved the way for this. And activists are saying there wasn't any transparency when these laws were changed and people weren't consulted and things weren't done properly. The government is saying, no, no, no, it's absolutely kosher. We've looked into this, it's not going to be so bad.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah. And these protests have been building since May when part of the site was fenced off with barbed wire. There were protest clashes with private security. Now, this is spilled into Tirana, the Albanian capital.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Not just Tirana, because Brussels, Berlin, elsewhere, there have been protests all around. I mean, Milan, Florence, New York, everywhere we've seen protests against this. And they've used as their kind of symbol the flamingo because those are the birds that are the most synonymous with this area. And they've been carrying out cutout flamingos and chanting and so forth. And We've had a few of our colleagues both in. In the country and also here reporting on this, saying, look, the protesters are saying that this is about Jared Kushner. Yes, it's anti Trump, anti everything to do with Trump, but it's also about the ecology of the country and it's about rule of law. And now this is actually affecting potentially Albania's EU prospects, Nick, because the commission has actually said, look, this might mean if. If Albania doesn't follow the rules, it might mean that it's not actually ready to join the eu, even though it's kind of seen as a front runner at the moment.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah, I actually remember speaking to the commission about this. They say they're monitoring it, they have voice some concerns, but they're also not going too hard. I just want to say, I mean, how many other environmental protests have we seen in Albania in the past few years? It does seem like Jared Kushner is the big kind of giant red target here. And it was very interesting that the Prime Minister, Eddie Rama, really expressed some irritation in his interview with our colleague Jacob Wiseman. He did the same when I spoke to him a few weeks ago in Greece, saying, why is there so much attention on this deal? It's all about Jared Kushner. But, of course, if you're going to jointly develop a private luxury eco resort on a private island off the coast of your country, maybe there's going to be some. Yeah, some blowback.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Well, I mean, one of the things that Rama said to Jacob is he sort of was saying, oh, look, I think there's anti Semitism at play here because Kushner is Jewish. And he was pointing to some placards that have been seen among the protesters that have had some pretty worrying anti Semitic signage and so forth, social media posts. And he said also that Iran is behind this as well, because they've been whipping up, he says, cyber attacks and. And whipping up kind of misinformation campaigns, he said, in retaliation because Albania has given refuge to Iranian opposition members. So that's his claim. The protesters and civil society groups, they say, yes, there have been a few of these signs, but actually, it's not a reflection of the broader movement. It's just a very small minority. And this is about environmental.

[Nick Winnicker]

Yeah. And if you want to hear more about this, I recommend watching a video that Ivanka Trump did just a few days ago, I believe, where she describes jumping off a boat and swimming up to this island as if she were discovering the new world and walking around barefoot and being enchanted with it and

[Zora Shiftilovich]

deciding, you know, 10,000 hotel rooms, I

[Nick Winnicker]

need to have this, right? I mean, what's more relatable than that?

[Zora Shiftilovich]

I can't think of a single thing, Nick. Not one. Alrighty, Nick. Well, listen, that's about all we've got time for today, except one thing. We spoke about cocktails last week and we asked people to write in with their favorite because of the Spritz Misto the EU politician's favorite drink, Aperol Spritz with Campari. What's your favorite cocktail, Nick?

[Nick Winnicker]

Wow. I gotta go with a gin and tonic in a pinch. Hits the spot.

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Oh, you and Ian both. How boring. We've had a few of our listeners write in with their recommendations too. Jonathan from Switzerland, who I suspect is a bartender because of his very specific and niche cocktails suggested. A Martini Royale or a Negroni Spagliato. There you have it. Do it Joey from Brussels Cosmo or a Mojito. And then we've had Evangelist from Greece who reckons a lime daiquiri hits the spot when.

[Nick Winnicker]

When doesn't it? No one said a Martini or a

[Zora Shiftilovich]

Martini if you're a Shawzy fan out there. Very niche joke for a small number of hockey loving Canadians. Right oat folks. That's it from US today. Let us know what you think, send us a review, write us a WhatsApp link is in the show notes as it always is. And look after yourselves.

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