Albania: EU Accession Talks Begin

Albania’s accession negotiations were officially launched on October 15 by the European Union (EU): “Today we are celebrating a historic decision as we have opened the first round of negotiations. This means that the road is now open to negotiate the conditions under which Albania will become a member of the European Union,” explained Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Enlargement. “It is now indisputable that for the EU, as well as for its leaders, enlargement is among the top three priorities. In the top three priorities, because without enlargement Europe will not be able to strengthen itself. We need enlargement to make the European Union stronger.”

The main chapters of the negotiations deal with issues such as justice, freedom, and security, public procurement, financial control and various economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions, and public administration reform.

The EU’s preliminary assessment of Albania’s progress is “mostly positive,” and there is room for improvement, particularly with regard to the fight against corruption, media independence, and the judiciary.

“Our goal is to complete this process within this decade and be ready to knock on the doors of the European Council as a member state,” explained Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in an interview with Euronews. “This is a very ambitious plan that requires a very large amount of work. We worked closely with the Commission, and together we defined a roadmap, which again is very ambitious. We have a plan, and we are also counting on friends and partners to help us implement it.”