Albania became only the second EU candidate country, after Montenegro, to obtain the Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR). This major step was taken on 26 May 2026, at the Eighth Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels. The successful IBAR confirms Albania’s fulfillment of the interim benchmarks for the crucial Cluster 1 (“Fundamentals”), officially transitioning the country into the concluding phase of EU accession negotiations and allowing for the provisional closure of negotiating chapters.
Albania’s attainment of the IBAR is viewed by analysts both as a merit-based and geopolitically-driven milestone. According to the interlocutors of EWB, while significant progress has been made regarding the rule of law and democracy, there is a persistent gap between adopting reforms and the sustainable implementation of them, which needs to be bridged in the upcoming, crucial phase of the EU accession process of the country.
“Albania’s successful attainment of IBAR stands as a significant milestone, marking formal recognition of the country’s foundational reforms. This accomplishment signals the EU Commission’s approval for Albania to advance further, allowing the country to close negotiation clusters and proceed on the path toward EU accession”, states Fjona Merkaj, Project Officer at European Liberal Forum (ELF).
