Development requires capital.

The question is not whether Albania and Kosovo need investment, because the answer is clear. The question is whether we will be able to distinguish good projects from bad ones, without falling into the trap of automatically rejecting everything that comes from abroad. The economic history of Europe shows that prosperity was not built on the fear of capital, but on the ability to attract and put it at the service of economic development.

Few topics provoke stronger reactions in Albania and Kosovo than foreign investment. All it takes is the announcement of a major tourism, energy or industrial project and the debate quickly shifts away from economics. Questions arise about ownership, environmental impact, transparency, public interest and, occasionally, ulterior motives. Given the history of the region, these concerns are entirely understandable and legitimate. Citizens need to ask tough questions and those in power need to be prepared to provide answers.

However, the debate often takes a useless turn. Skepticism about a particular project turns into skepticism about the investment itself. And this reminds me of what Milan Kundera called “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” because of the unbearable ease with which we draw conclusions without knowing the facts. A project is declared good or bad, an investor is condemned or glorified, long before the projects, procedures, financing, or real impacts are examined. This is a luxury that developing countries cannot afford.

Why is everyone competing for investments?

Across Europe, governments are aggressively competing to attract foreign capital. France recently announced new investments of around €93 billion under its “Choose France” initiative. Germany is competing for industrial projects, Ireland continues to attract global technology and pharmaceutical companies. The same goes for Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and many other countries.

These countries do not suffer from a lack of capital. They have developed financial markets, pension funds, strong institutions and access to significant domestic financial resources. However, they invest a lot of political energy in attracting investors. The reason is that investments create jobs, bring technology, innovation and managerial knowledge, strengthen supply and value chains, increase exports and productivity. They often open doors to international markets that local businesses find difficult to reach on their own.

If the world's richest economies compete so fiercely for investment, then it is hard to argue that less developed countries can afford the luxury of indifference.

Albania and Kosovo need capital

The economic development of Albania, Kosovo and much of Southeast Europe depends on foreign investment. Both countries need modern infrastructure, competitive industry, clean energy, quality jobs and a higher standard of living. Both aim to catch up with the economic level of the European Union and create opportunities for young people to build their future at home, not seek it in exile.

These ambitions require investments measured in billions of euros, not millions, investments from legal and transparent sources, not from money laundering or corruption. The domestic financial potential is not enough to finance this transformation, which is not only true for Albania and Kosovo. Few countries at this stage of development have managed to modernize their economies without significant foreign capital. Neither did Ireland, nor Poland, nor Estonia.

Ireland’s transformation from one of Western Europe’s poorest economies to a global hub for technology, pharmaceuticals, and advanced services was underpinned by decades of foreign investment. Poland’s economic rise after the fall of communism was accelerated by international companies that brought capital, knowledge, and access to global markets. Estonia followed a similar path. Neither of these countries saw foreign investment as a threat, but rather as a tool for national development.

The paradox of Albania and Kosovo

Herein lies the paradox. Albania and Kosovo need investment more than most other European countries, but at the same time they compete for a more limited group of investors. Unlike some countries in the region, both have chosen to build their future within the Euro-Atlantic space. Kosovo in particular has avoided orienting its development through Russian or Chinese capital. Albania has had some Chinese investment over the years, but its strategic orientation remains clearly Western.

This is the right path, but also the most difficult one. Serious Western investors are not persuaded by political promises alone. They demand legal certainty, functional institutions, protection of private property, environmental standards, and legal predictability and stability.

Before a single euro is invested, the project passes through the hands of lawyers, auditors, engineers, environmental experts, banks and regulators. Ownership, source of funds, property titles, permits, environmental impact and compliance with the law are verified. For projects developed in Europe, this control is even more rigorous. This is one of the reasons why Western investments are difficult to attract, but at the same time remain extremely important and necessary.

The case of the Albanian coast

The debate about tourism projects in Albania deserves more depth than we are currently seeing in the public discussion. The Albanian coast is one of the most beautiful and least developed tourist assets in Europe. Questions about environmental impact, public access, ownership structure, sources of financing and long-term benefits are completely legitimate. Any major project should be carefully analyzed.

But there is another question. How can Albania build a top-notch tourism industry without massive investments?

Luxury resorts, marinas, and supporting infrastructure require hundreds of millions, in some cases billions, of euros. No country with Albania’s current level of domestic capital has built a modern tourism industry solely on its own resources. Across Europe, international capital has financed many of the projects that are now considered success stories. In 2025, American companies were the largest foreign investor in Europe, with a total of 943 investment projects. Even the most developed European economies continue to compete for American capital and international investment.

Capital has always moved from places where it is abundant to places where it is scarce. This is how economic development has functioned for centuries. Therefore, the question we should ask is not whether foreign capital should participate in the development of Albania or Kosovo, but whether the projects and sources of financing are legal, transparent, environmentally sustainable, and in the interest of the society in which they are developed.

Let's not confuse the means with the end.

For Albania and Kosovo, the risk is not that they will receive too much foreign investment, but that they will continue to receive too little of it. Rejecting bad projects is institutional maturity, demanding transparency is democratic maturity, protecting the environment is national maturity.

But treating investment as a problem in itself risks confusing the means with the end. The end is development, and development requires capital. The countries that manage to narrow the gap with the developed world are not those that fear investment, but those that learn to attract it and use it in the service of their long-term national interest.

And here we return to Kundera. Not to “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” but to the unbearable lightness with which we often make judgments before we know the facts. Ultimately, the question is not whether Albania and Kosovo need investments because the answer is clear. The question is whether we will manage to distinguish good projects from bad ones, without falling into the trap of automatically rejecting everything that comes from outside.

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The economic history of Europe shows that prosperity was not built on the fear of capital, but on the ability to attract and put it at the service of economic development.

(The author is an economist and founder of ECIKS – www.eciks.com)