Thewesternbalkans.
In addition to the parliamentary elections in May 2025, Albania faces challenges this year as it moves towards European integration. Tirana began de facto EU membership negotiations in September 2024, when it was decided to separate from North Macedonia after Skopje failed to meet the condition for constitutional changes.
European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, Marta Kos, announced during a speech at the European Parliament her plans to visit Tirana in February. Kos highlighted Albania’s achievements on its path to EU membership, emphasizing that “Albania’s progress should serve as an example for other countries.” She expressed optimism about the enlargement process, predicting more significant advancements this year than in the past decade.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said last week that Albania is just a few steps away from becoming a full member of the European Union. Albania aims to become a full-fledged member of the European Union by the end of the decade, said Edi Rama in October 2024, after the conference focused on the first cluster of chapters on the so-called “fundamentals”, related to the fundamental rights of citizens and the rule of law. Progress on the first cluster will determine the overall pace of the negotiations, as it closes last.
The 16th meeting of the EU-Albania Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security (Chapter 24 of Cluster 1) will take place online on 11-12 February 2025. EU member states are paying special attention to issues related to the fight against corruption, illegal migration, minority rights, the implementation of the EU visa liberalization mechanism. On the positive side, in 2024, 24 final convictions were handed down in Albania against around 100 people on corruption charges. Of these, 13 are against high-ranking individuals, including a former minister, a member of the Constitutional Court and high-ranking police officers. However, Italy’s plans to relocate refugee centers to Albania have not worked, and there is no effective readmission agreement between Albania and Greece.
According to the EU assessment, the newly adopted laws and regulations on minorities meet European standards in the field. Albanian legislation grants the right to free self-determination, and national minorities are given the opportunity to use minority languages in all areas and in those areas where representatives of the relevant minority represent at least 20% of the population.
In December 2024, Albania opened Cluster 6 with two negotiation chapters – external relations and security policy – during the third intergovernmental conference in Brussels. For other clusters, the European Commission is conducting a screening to determine the preparedness for opening the clusters and chapters.
According to diplomatic sources in Brussels, the EC report on Cluster 3 – Competition and Inclusive Growth, in the section on media, notes that Albania maintains a good level of harmonisation in the field of audiovisual media, but there is still a lot of work to be completed under Chapter 10 (Digital Transformation and Media). The challenges facing the Albanian media environment are the need for an improved legal framework and a stronger institutional commitment to media freedom.
“Montenegro is expected to complete the negotiations by 2026, while Albania aims to do so by 2027. We will continue to support these countries, but significant efforts are still needed,” said Commissioner Marta Kos.
