A planned $5 billion resort development on the Albanian Riviera backed by Jared Kushner is drawing growing protests inside Albania and raising concerns among European officials that the project threatens the country’s path toward EU membership, which requires transparency in major foreign investment approvals.

Protesters gathered in Tirana and along the southern Riviera coast Thursday, criticising the Albanian government’s handling of the deal and demanding greater public scrutiny of the approval process. Critics say the project bypassed standard environmental and planning reviews and that the scale of the investment, and the identity of the investor, warrant full parliamentary oversight.

Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, struck the deal with the Albanian government earlier this year to develop a major tourism and real estate complex on a stretch of coast that environmental groups say is one of the last undeveloped sections of the Mediterranean. The project would include hotels, residential properties, and a marina.

EU officials have expressed concern that Albania’s handling of the deal demonstrates the governance weaknesses that accession negotiations are designed to address. The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Albania noted that large foreign real estate investments can be politically sensitive in EU accession contexts, particularly when approval processes lack transparency.

The Albanian prime minister Edi Rama has defended the deal as a transformative investment that will bring tens of thousands of jobs to a region that has been economically marginalised for decades. His government has dismissed the criticism as politically motivated and said all legal requirements were met.

Kushner’s business dealings have attracted attention in several countries since his father-in-law Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Critics note that the Albanian government’s approval of the project coincided with a period of close diplomatic engagement between Tirana and Washington. The Albanian government denies any connection.

The Riviera coastline in question has been the subject of conservation efforts by international environmental groups. Several protected species nest along the sections included in the proposed development zone. Environmental impact assessments submitted by the developer are being challenged in Albanian courts.

Formal EU accession progress reports for Albania are tracked by the European Commission’s enlargement portal. The geopolitical dynamics driving foreign investment into Balkans tourism markets are also discussed in coverage of sports tourism technology adoption in the region and media coverage infrastructure for major travel destinations. Economic development patterns in the Western Balkans are tracked alongside Nubia’s Southeastern European expansion.