European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on Monday that Albania is progressing faster than before in implementing reforms required for EU accession, expressing confidence that the country could become a full member by 2030.
“Albania has embraced the renewed momentum for enlargement and is taking concrete, accelerated steps. In just the past two months, two additional negotiation clusters have been opened,” Kos said during a briefing before the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
She noted that Albania has now opened 24 negotiating chapters and praised the country’s overall progress toward European integration.
“We have a real opportunity to admit one or more candidate countries as full EU members by 2029,” the commissioner stated.
Kos emphasized that the rule of law remains a fundamental and non-negotiable condition for membership, adding that candidate countries must become part of the EU’s common security framework.
Speaking at a conference organized by the Centre for European Studies in Brussels on May 30, Kos expressed optimism about opening further negotiation chapters with Albania within June.
“During my mandate as Enlargement Commissioner, we will see new EU memberships from the Western Balkans. I have a clear agreement with Prime Minister Edi Rama: this process will be merit-based. It is time to finalize Albania’s ‘marriage’ with Europe,” Kos said.