Premier Meloni regrets Italian tourists ran away from Albanian eatery after having meal

ATHENS

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed regret on Saturday after four Italian tourists in Albania's southern city of Berat left a restaurant without paying for their meals, saying it has been settled down now.

While on vacation in Albania, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told her about four Italian tourists who ran away after their meals at a local restaurant without paying, she said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that she was ashamed to hear the incident.

“I felt ashamed because the Italy that I want to represent is not a nation that is talked about abroad for these things, that doesn't respect the work of others, that thinks it's fun by cheating others,” she added.

"So, I decided to ask the ambassador to go and settle the amount, which I paid out of my own pocket," Meloni explained.

In a related development, the Italian Embassy in Albania issued a statement saying, "Italians respect the rules and pay their debts, and we hope that such episodes do not reoccur."

Meloni and her family spent a few days in Albania this week as guests of Premier Rama.

As news of some Italians leaving a restaurant in Berat was shared in local Albanian media, Edi Rama told Italian daily La Stampa in an interview on Friday that Meloni intervened to settle the matter.

“Go and pay the check for these idiots, please,” Rama quoted Meloni as telling the Italian ambassador to Albania.