BRUSSELS – Albania provisionally closed the negotiating chapters on science and research (25), education and culture (26), and external relations (30) at its ninth accession conference with the European Union, held on 14 July.
This is the first time Albania has closed negotiating chapters since the start of its accession process. This step was made possible by the positive evaluation of the interim benchmarks in the area of the rule of law, which was adopted earlier this year.
Provisional closing of the chapters implies that negotiations could be reopened if the substance covered under the chapter changes, though this rarely happens. A country needs to close all 33 chapters before it is ready to sign an accession treaty with the EU.
Thomas Byrne, Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs of Ireland, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, stated that this achievement proves Albania’s and the EU’s commitment to continue the path of the country’s European integration.
“I strongly welcome this significant progress, and I encourage Albania to stay the course on core reforms to move forward in the process, in the coming months”, Byrne said.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos posted on X that the EU now counts on Albania to maintain momentum and double down on reforms, especially on the rule of law and the fight against corruption, and continue work in a transparent, accountable and inclusive way.
Albania closed its chapters as part of the “Super Tuesday”, which involved four accession conferences with candidate countries – the first time this has happened in a single day since the early 2000s. In addition to Albania, Montenegro held a conference to close two negotiating chapters, while Ukraine and Moldova opened Cluster 6 on external relations.
