Pop star Dua Lipa has publicly endorsed Albania's ongoing protest movement against a €1.6bn resort development backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, calling demonstrations now in their 45th day "inspiring." Speaking on her podcast, Lipa — who has family roots in Kosovo and is widely admired across the Albanian diaspora — voiced concern that the Albanian government quietly amended environmental protection laws in December 2024 to fast-track the project without public consultation, enabling planned construction on Sazan (Albania's only island) and the protected Zvërnec peninsula. The protests matter beyond Albania's borders: European Parliament members have warned that the country's ambitions to join the EU by 2030 could be jeopardised if environmental standards continue to be undermined.