Prime Minister Edi Rama has condemned acts of violence during a protest that damaged the building housing the College of Europe in Tirana, arguing that the students should not be held responsible for the destruction.

In a statement delivered from the damaged premises, Rama distinguished between students, whom he described as the country's future, and those he accused of being behind the violent acts.

“Until yesterday, this was the office of the College of Europe, the school of a united Europe that we established in Albania together with the European leaders present here in Tirana,” Rama said.

“Today, this is the ruin left by hands that are not, and can never be, the hands of students,” he added.

Rama said students remained welcome to engage in dialogue with the government, stressing that authorities were prepared to discuss their concerns and seek solutions to issues requiring attention.

“Students are the future. They are the ones who look ahead, who want to go further and faster,” he said.

The prime minister accused the opposition of being behind the destruction, claiming that those responsible were attempting to undermine Albania's progress.

“These are the hands that try to push Albania down every time Albania tries to rise,” Rama said, accusing the opposition of seeking to drag the country backward through what he described as “fire and iron.”

The incident has brought renewed attention to the protest and the damage caused to the College of Europe premises in Tirana. Rama's remarks emphasized the distinction between peaceful student engagement and acts of violence, while reaffirming his government's willingness to discuss students' concerns.