Albania is ready to close chapters in the framework of accession negotiations with the European Union. Photo: Bojan Velikonja
EU Council: Albania is ready to close the chapters in the accession negotiations
Albania is ready to close chapters in the framework of accession negotiations with the European Union, the Council of the EU announced on Tuesday evening. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that this is a big step on Albania’s path to the Union.
Representatives of the EU member states and Albania confirmed at Tuesday’s intergovernmental conference in Brussels that Tirana met the intermediate criteria for the first set of negotiation chapters, which includes the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, the rule of law and economic criteria.
Thus, Albania, which has opened all six negotiating sections in the past two years, is ready to start closing individual chapters, the EU Council stated.
At the same time, the Union also determined the criteria for the temporary closure of the chapters that belong to the first set. Negotiations start and end with this section.
According to the Cypriot Secretary of State for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, whose country currently holds the EU Council Presidency, the fulfillment of the interim criteria shows Albania’s commitment to further progress towards membership in the Union.
The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, wrote on the X social network that this is a big step forward for Albania on its way to the EU. “Now begins the most demanding phase of negotiations with preparations for joining the Union and further building mutual trust with the member states,” she added.
Albania applied for EU membership in 2009, and was granted candidate status in June 2014. It then only started accession negotiations in July 2022. The authorities in Tirana set themselves the goal of completing them by the end of 2027.
