On the eve of the 10th EU-Albania Intergovernmental Conference, which will be held this Tuesday afternoon in Luxembourg, the EU ambassador, Sofia Moreira de Sousa, says that the Albanian authorities still have “homework” to fulfill before the country achieves full membership in the European family.
“We are working closely with the Albanian authorities. I, together with my team, are fully engaged in this process. There are still several chapters to close. We have an ambitious deadline, proposed by the Albanian side. Meeting this deadline requires intensive work in several areas.”
De Sousa mentions the continuation of work for the rule of law and environmental issues as the main obligations.
“Efforts must continue in terms of the rule of law and environmental issues; there are many areas where work needs to continue. They can also take an example from my country, Portugal, which has been part of the EU for 40 years.”
The next intergovernmental conference will mark the closing of Chapter 20 – Enterprise and Industrial Policy.
The series of intergovernmental conferences with candidate countries starts on Monday with Montenegro expected to close two additional chapters: Chapter 18 (Statistics) and Chapter 19 (Social Policy and Employment).
So far, Montenegro has opened all 33 negotiation chapters, of which 18 have been closed. Ukraine and Moldova are expected to open two more groups of chapters on Wednesday, respectively.
The European Commission is expected to present on October 28 an official roadmap with timelines for the membership of Albania and the three other countries leading the enlargement process.
