Thewesternbalkans.
According to the European commission, on 22 of May 2025 in Brussels was held the fifth meeting of the Accession Conference between the European Union and Albania. Albania opened the Cluster 3: Competitiveness and inclusive growth, which contains eight negotiating chapters: Chapter 10 – Digital transformation and media, Chapter 16 – Taxation, Chapter 17 – Economic and monetary policy, Chapter 19 – Social policy and employment, Chapter 20 – Enterprise and industrial policy, Chapter 25 – Science and research, Chapter 26 – Education and culture, Chapter 29 – Customs union.
At the accession conference, the EU delegation was led by Ambassador Agnieszka Bartol, Permanent Representative of Poland to the EU, on behalf of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the participation of Commission Director General Gert Jan Koopman. The Albanian delegation was led by Igli Hasani, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania.
Marta Kos, European Commission for Enlargement, congratulated Albania with a post on X, writing that the opening of Cluster 3 “means a stronger Albanian economy for the benefit of your citizens and another step closer to the EU”.
Comments: Montenegro remains the frontrunner in the EU accession process, having opened all 33 negotiating chapters and provisionally closed six, but since it opened the Cluster 1: Fundamentals in October last year, Albania has moved very quickly, opening negotiations on an additional three clusters in the past eight months.
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama stated that the goal of the country to open and then close all negotiating chapters by 2027 becomes more and more realistic.
