Dua Lipa Comments on Albanian Protests; Parliament Approves Kushner-Backed Resort

Dua Lipa described protests against a €1.6 billion resort project in Albania as inspiring during a conversation on her Service95 Book Club podcast. The Guardian reported that the London-born singer, whose parents are Kosovan Albanian, made the remarks to academic Lea Ypi. Lipa said the demonstrations showed how much people care about the issue.

The project, backed by investors led by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, calls for construction on Sazan, Albania's only island, and 10,000 villas on the Zvërnec peninsula. Both sites are uninhabited nature reserves that host ecosystems for birdlife and rare species.

The Albanian parliament amended legislation in December 2024 to permit building in environmentally sensitive areas, though The Guardian reported no evidence that Kushner played a role in the change.

Lipa raised concerns about the process. “What I actually find concerning is the principle that the government could just change the law to remove the environmental protection without any kind of public consultation,” she stated. Protests in Tirana entered their sixth week and reached their 45th day at the time of reporting.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has called the development a gift to Europe and a blessing for the country. MEPs have warned that Albania's EU accession talks could face risks if environmental standards are not maintained. The country had aimed to join the bloc by 2030.

Aleksander Trajce, who heads the Protection and Preservation of the Natural Environment in Albania, told The Guardian that Lipa's comments were powerful and well-timed. He said the protests showed no sign of stopping and that an environmental impact study had begun only after works started on Zvërnec.