Albania moves towards EU membership, Kos: ‘a success story’

Brussels (ANSA) – Albania is making further progress in its path to EU membership. During the intergovernmental conference with Albania held in Luxembourg, following the meeting of EU foreign ministers, the second cluster of EU accession negotiations concerning the internal market was opened. “Together with the Commission, we have agreed on a very ambitious program. We look forward to ensuring that by 2027 all clusters are not only opened but also closed,” said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at a press conference.

“It is indeed a very ambitious project, but we are here today to reaffirm our strong will, our determination, and our full passion to achieve this goal,” he added. “The Polish presidency supports an EU enlargement based on merit, and now more than ever welcoming new members is a geostrategic investment for peace, security, stability, and prosperity,” echoed Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on behalf of the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

“The goal of the presidency is to make overall progress in the enlargement process, both towards the east and regarding the Western Balkans,” he emphasized, then calling on Hungary to lift the veto on the formal opening of accession negotiations for Ukraine. “Albania is truly a success story of our enlargement process,” praised the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

“The plan is to open all clusters by the end of this year and then, with next year, start closing them,” explained the commissioner. “We should also consider today’s opening of negotiations on cluster two, the Internal Market, from a very important international perspective: while tariffs and protectionism are returning in many parts of the world, our work in this cluster – she emphasized – consists of breaking down trade barriers.”

The first cluster on Albania’s fundamentals was opened last December. Brussels started accession negotiations with Albania in July 2022 (April 14).