BRUSSELS, May 27 (BV)— Albania and the European Union held an intergovernmental conference in Brussels on Tuesday, marking the start of the process of closing negotiation chapters in Tirana’s accession talks.
The meeting followed a decision by the EU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives confirming that Albania had met the interim benchmarks in the “Fundamentals” cluster.
The decision also set closing benchmarks for Chapter 23, covering judiciary and fundamental rights, and Chapter 24, covering justice, freedom and security.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Cyprus Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna held a joint press conference after the meeting.
Rama said Albania had made major progress and had “broken another record” in its EU negotiations.
He said the accession process was the country’s biggest state-building challenge and expressed confidence Albania would become part of the EU “within this decade.”
Kos praised Albania’s reform work but said more progress would be needed.
She highlighted judicial vetting, the review of hundreds of judges and prosecutors, and the establishment of SPAK, describing the anti-corruption structure as one of Albania’s flagship institutions.
Kos urged Albania to use the “positive energy” generated by the process to continue reforms.
Rama said Albania remained fully aligned with EU foreign policy and described the country as one of Europe’s most pro-EU and pro-Atlantic societies.
He also responded to discussions about innovative models for Western Balkan integration, including ideas raised by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Rama said EU candidates should not be divided and argued that any future approach should support full membership while recognizing the need for EU internal reforms.
Kos said Merz’s letter had opened a useful debate on how to advance the enlargement agenda, although member states had not yet formally discussed the ideas.
The Brussels conference focused on the “Fundamentals” cluster, including the judiciary, fundamental rights, democratic institutions, public administration reform, public procurement, statistics, financial control and economic criteria.
Albania opened accession negotiations with the EU after years of delays and has sought to accelerate the process through judicial reform, anti-corruption measures and alignment with EU foreign policy.