Accession of Albania to the European Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Albania • Politicsportal |
Albania is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). It applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009, and has since June 2014 been an official candidate for accession. The Council of the European Union decided in March 2020 to open accession negotiations with Albania. [1]
However, the country did not start accession negotiations because its candidacy was linked to that of North Macedonia, which was vetoed by Bulgaria. [2] On 24 June 2022, Bulgaria's parliament approved lifting the country's veto on opening EU accession talks with North Macedonia. On 16 July 2022, the Assembly of North Macedonia also approved the revised French proposal, allowing accession negotiations to begin. [3] The start of negotiations was officially launched on 19 July 2022. [4] It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Officially recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country" in 2000, Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2003. This was successfully agreed and signed on 12 June 2006, thus completing the first major step toward Albania's full membership in the EU.
Albania applied for European Union membership on 28 April 2009. After Albania's application for EU membership, the Council of the European Union asked the European Commission on 16 November 2009 to prepare an assessment on the readiness of Albania to start accession negotiations. [5] On 16 December 2009, the European Commission submitted the Questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government. Albania returned answers to the Commission on 14 April 2010. [6] On 5 December 2013, an MEP meeting recommended to the council to grant Albania candidate status. [7] On 23 June 2014, under the Greek EU Presidency, the Council of the European Union agreed to grant Albania candidate status, which was endorsed by the European Council a few days later. Following in the steps of countries joining the EU in 2004, Albania has been extensively engaged with EU institutions, and joined NATO as a full member in 2009.
The European Commission recommended that the EU open membership talks with Albania in its November 2016 assessment. [8] In June 2018 the European Council agreed on a pathway to starting accession talks with Albania by the end of 2019. [9] [10]
Albania's EU accession is bundled with North Macedonia's EU accession. Albania is given certain pre-conditions for starting the accession negotiations, such as passing reforms in the justice system, a new electoral law, opening trials for corrupt judges and respect for the human rights of its Greek minority. [11] [12]
In May 2019, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn reiterated this recommendation. [13] However, in June the EU General Affairs Council decided to postpone their decision on opening negotiations to October, due to objections from a number of countries including the Netherlands and France. [14] The decision was vetoed again in October. [15] On 25 March 2020, the Council of the European Union decided to open accession negotiations, which was endorsed by the European Council the following day. [16] [17]
On 13 September 2023, during her State of the European Union address, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen stated that the future of the Western Balkans was "in our Union". [18]
Date | Event |
---|---|
1992 | A Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Albania was signed, and Albania became eligible for funding under the EU Phare programme. |
1997 | The EU Council of Ministers established political and economic conditionality for the development of bilateral relations between Albania and the EU. |
1999 | The EU proposed the new Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) for five countries of Southeastern Europe, including Albania. Starting from 1999 Albania benefited from Autonomous Trade Preferences with the EU. |
2000 | Duty-free access to EU market was granted for products from Albania. [19] |
June 2000 | The European Council stated that all the SAP countries are "potential candidates" for EU membership. |
November 2000 | At the Zagreb Summit, the SAP was officially endorsed by the EU and the Western Balkan countries (including Albania). |
2001 | The first year of the new CARDS programme specifically designed for the SAP countries. |
June 2001 | The Commission recommended the undertaking of negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Albania. The Göteborg European Council invited the commission to present draft negotiating directives for the negotiation of a SAA. |
31 January 2003 | The directives for the negotiation of a SAA with Albania were adopted. Commission President Prodi officially launches the negotiations for a SAA between the EU and Albania. |
June 2003 | At the Thessaloniki Summit, the SAP was confirmed as the EU policy for the Western Balkans and the EU perspective for these countries was confirmed (countries participating in the SAP started to be eligible for EU accession and would join the EU once they would become ready). |
December 2005 | The council made the decision on the principles of a revised European Partnership for Albania. |
12 June 2006 | The SAA was signed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg. [19] |
9 November 2006 | The European Commission decided to start visa facilitation negotiations with Albania. |
13 April 2007 | The visa facilitation agreement was signed in Zagreb. The signing EU Commissioner Franco Frattini was quoted saying that this is the first step toward a full abolishment of the visa requirements and the free movement of Albanian citizens in the EU. |
1 January 2008 | The visa facilitation agreement entered into force. |
7 March 2008 | EU Commissioner Franco Frattini while in Tirana opened the dialogue toward the liberalisation of the visa regime between Albania and EU. |
1 April 2009 | The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) entered into force. |
28 April 2009 | Albania formally applied for membership in the European Union. [19] |
16 November 2009 | The Council of the EU asked the European Commission to prepare an assessment on Albania's readiness to start accession negotiations. The Commission submitted the questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government. [5] |
14 April 2010 | Albania submitted answers to the European Commission's questionnaire, [6] but candidacy status was not granted by the EU in December 2010 due to a long-lasting political row in the country. [20] |
27 May 2010 | The European Commission proposed visa free travel for Albania. The adopted proposal enabled citizens of Albania to travel to Schengen countries without needing a short term visa. [21] |
8 November 2010 | The Council of the European Union approved visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for Albanian citizens. [22] |
15 December 2010 | Visa-free access for Albanians to the Schengen area entered into force. |
10 October 2012 | The European Commission recommended that Albania be granted EU candidate status, subject to the completion of key measures in certain areas. |
August 2012 | The Albanian Parliament rejected a proposal to abolish immunity for parliament members, ministers and people in some other official positions. The EU required this to be abolished along with 11 other main issues, so candidate status was further delayed. [23] However, in September 2012 a constitutional amendment was unanimously passed which limited the immunity of parliamentarians. [24] |
October 2012 | The European Commission evaluated the progress of Albania to comply with 12 key conditions to achieve official candidate status and start accession negotiations. The report concluded that if Albania managed to hold a fair and democratic parliamentary election in June 2013, and also implemented the remaining changes to comply with the eight key priorities still not fully met, then the Council of the European Union would recommended granting Albania official candidate status. [25] [26] |
23 June 2013 | Albania held a general election, generally regarded as free and fair. [27] |
16 October 2013 | The European Commission released its annual reports on prospective member states which concluded that the Albanian election was held in an "orderly manner" and that progress had been made in meeting other conditions; as such it recommended granting Albania candidate status. [28] |
5 December 2013 | In an MEP meeting it was recommended that "...the Council should acknowledge the progress made by Albania by granting it candidate status without undue delay." [7] However, several states, including Denmark and the Netherlands, remained opposed to granting Albania candidate status until it demonstrated that its recent progress could be sustained. [29] Consequently, the Council of the European Union, at its meeting in December 2013, agreed to postpone the decision on candidate status until June 2014. [30] |
24 June 2014 | Under the Greek EU Presidency, the Council of the European Union agreed to grant Albania candidate status, [31] [32] which was endorsed by the European Council a few days later. [33] This coincided with the 10th anniversary of the "Agenda 2014", [34] proposed by the Greek Government in 2004, as part of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, for boosting the integration of all the Western Balkan states into the European Union. [35] |
March 2015 | At the fifth "High Level Dialogue meeting" between Albania and the EU, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement (Johannes Hahn) notified Albania that the setting of a start date for accession negotiations to begin still required the following two conditions to be met: 1) The government need to reopen political dialogue with the parliamentary opposition, 2) Albania must deliver quality reforms for all 5 earlier identified key areas not yet complied with (public administration, rule of law, corruption, organised crime, fundamental rights [36] ). [37] This official stance, was fully supported by the European Parliament through its pass of a Resolution comment in April 2015, [38] which agreed with all conclusions drawn by the commission's latest 2014 Progress Report on Albania. [39] The Albanian Prime Minister outlined the next step of his government would be to submit a detailed progress report on the implementation of the 5 key reforms to the Commission in Autumn 2015, and then he expected the accession negotiations should start shortly afterwards - before the end of 2015. [37] |
22 July 2016 | The Albanian parliament approved constitutional amendments on justice reforms. |
9 November 2016 | The Commission recommended the launch of negotiations. [40] |
26 November 2016 | Germany announced that it would veto the opening accession talks until 2018. [41] |
Early 2017[ when? ] | The European Parliament warned the government leaders that the parliamentary elections in June must be "free and fair" before negotiations could begin to admit the country into the Union. The MEPs also expressed concern about the country's "selective justice, corruption, the overall length of judicial proceedings and political interference in investigations and court cases" but the EU Press Release expressed some optimism: "It is important for Albania to maintain today's reform momentum and we must be ready to support it as much as possible in this process". [42] |
December 2018 | Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated that respect of the rights of the Greek minority in Albania is a precondition for Albania's entry into the European Union. [43] [11] |
June 2019 | The European Commissioner Johannes Hahn recommended that the EU open membership talks with Albania. [13] On 1 June 2019, the Council set out the path to opening accession negotiations, with talks thought to begin shortly thereafter. |
September 2019 | Germany's Bundestag set as its preconditions for Albania's EU accession negotiations the reforms in the justice system, continue the fight against drug trafficking, a new electoral law, creation of SPAK (Special Anti-Corruption Structure), functioning of the Constitutional Court & the Supreme court, appoint the new Prosecutor General, trials for the corrupt judges, and also drop some ambitions of Greater Albania. [44] |
24 March 2020 | EU ministers reached a political agreement on opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia. [45] |
19 July 2022 | The first Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on accession negotiations was held between the EU and Albania. This marked the formal start of the accession talks. Additionally, the European Commission started the screening process. [46] |
N/A: Not applicable.
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On 1 January 2008 the visa facilitation and readmission agreements between Albania and the EU entered into force. [63] Albania received a road map from the EU for further visa liberalisation with Schengen countries in June 2008. [63]
Albania started issuing biometric passports on 24 May 2009, which were designed to comply with EU guidelines. [64] [65] On 8 November 2010 the Council of the European Union approved visa-free travel to the EU for citizens of Albania. [22] The decision entered into force on 15 December 2010. [66]
In 2011, the EU paid €6 million to construct or refurbish border crossing points and border police stations to help Albania fight organised crime and illegal trafficking. [67]
Until 2020, Albania had been receiving €1.2bn of developmental aid from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.
The screening process has been completed though no chapters have been opened thus far.
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Acquis chapter [68] | Screening Started | Screening Completed | Chapter Opened | Chapter Closed | ||||||||||||
1. Free Movement of Goods | 2023-01-30 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers | 2023-01-30 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services | 2023-01-17 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
4. Free Movement of Capital | 2022-10-07 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
5. Public Procurement | 2022-09-15 | 2023-01-16 | – | – | ||||||||||||
6. Company Law | 2023-02-03 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
7. Intellectual Property Law | 2023-01-17 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
8. Competition Policy | 2023-01-17 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
9. Financial Services | 2022-10-07 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
10. Information Society & Media | 2023-03-27 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
11. Agriculture & Rural Development | 2023-11-13 | 2023-11-24 | - | – | ||||||||||||
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy | 2023-11-20 | 2023-11-24 | – | – | ||||||||||||
13. Fisheries | 2023-11-20 | 2023-11-24 | – | – | ||||||||||||
14. Transport Policy | 2023-03-15 | 2023-09-29 | – | – | ||||||||||||
15. Energy | 2023-03-15 | 2023-09-29 | – | – | ||||||||||||
16. Taxation | 2023-03-31 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
17. Economic & Monetary Policy | 2023-06-13 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
18. Statistics | 2022-09-19 | 2023-01-16 | – | – | ||||||||||||
19. Social Policy & Employment | 2023-05-23 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy | 2023-05-26 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
21. Trans-European Networks | 2023-03-15 | 2023-09-29 | – | – | ||||||||||||
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments | 2023-07-17 | 2023-10-25 | – | – | ||||||||||||
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights | 2022-09-27 | 2023-01-16 | – | − | ||||||||||||
24. Justice, Freedom & Security | 2022-09-27 | 2023-01-16 | – | – | ||||||||||||
25. Science & Research | 2023-04-28 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
26. Education & Culture | 2023-04-27 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
27. Environment & Climate Change | 2023-03-18 | 2023-09-29 | – | – | ||||||||||||
28. Consumer & Health Protection | 2023-02-17 | 2023-03-09 | – | – | ||||||||||||
29. Customs Union | 2022-10-20 | 2023-06-15 | – | – | ||||||||||||
30. External Relations | 2023-11-16 | 2023-11-17 | – | – | ||||||||||||
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy | 2023-11-16 | 2023-11-17 | – | – | ||||||||||||
32. Financial Control | 2022-12-09 | 2023-01-16 | – | – | ||||||||||||
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions | 2023-07-17 | 2023-10-25 | – | – | ||||||||||||
34. Institutions | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||
35. Other Issues | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||
Acquis chapter | Status as of Nov 2023 [69] | Chapter Status |
---|---|---|
Overview | 1 chapter at an early stage 8 chapters with some level of preparation 19 chapters with moderate preparation 5 chapters with good level of preparation 2 chapters with nothing to adopt | 0 chapters opened |
1. Free Movement of Goods | Moderately prepared† | Chapter not yet opened |
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
4. Free Movement of Capital | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
5. Public Procurement | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
6. Company Law | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
7. Intellectual Property Law | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
8. Competition Policy | Moderately prepared† | Chapter not yet opened |
9. Financial Services | Good level of preparation†† | Chapter not yet opened |
10. Information Society & Media | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
11. Agriculture & Rural Development | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
13. Fisheries | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
14. Transport Policy | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
15. Energy | Good level of preparation†† | Chapter not yet opened |
16. Taxation | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
17. Economic & Monetary Policy | Good level of preparation†† | Chapter not yet opened |
18. Statistics | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
19. Social Policy & Employment | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
21. Trans-European Networks | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights | Moderately prepared† | Chapter not yet opened |
24. Justice, Freedom & Security | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
25. Science & Research | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
26. Education & Culture | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
27. Environment & Climate Change | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
28. Consumer & Health Protection | Early stage | Chapter not yet opened |
29. Customs Union | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
30. External Relations | Good level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy | Good level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
32. Financial Control | Moderately prepared | Chapter not yet opened |
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions | Some level of preparation | Chapter not yet opened |
34. Institutions | Nothing to adopt | Chapter not yet opened |
35. Other Issues | Nothing to adopt | Chapter not yet opened |
† indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "some level of preparation" AND "moderately prepared".
†† indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "moderately prepared" AND "good level of preparation".
totally incompatible early stage considerable efforts needed some level of preparation further efforts needed moderately prepared no major difficulties expected good level of preparation well prepared / well advanced
Acquis chapter | EC Assessment in 2015 [70] | EC Assessment in 2016 [71] | EC Assessment in 2018 | EC Assessment in 2019 [72] | EC Assessment in 2020 [73] | EC Assessment in 2021 [74] | EC Assessment in 2022 [75] | EC Assessment in 2023 [69] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Free Movement of Goods | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† |
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
4. Free Movement of Capital | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
5. Public Procurement | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
6. Company Law | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
7. Intellectual Property Law | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared |
8. Competition Policy | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† |
9. Financial Services | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Good level of preparation†† |
10. Information Society & Media | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
11. Agriculture & Rural Development | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
13. Fisheries | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared |
14. Transport Policy | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
15. Energy | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Good level of preparation†† |
16. Taxation | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
17. Economic & Monetary Policy | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Good level of preparation†† |
18. Statistics | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
19. Social Policy & Employment | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared |
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
21. Trans-European Networks | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† | Moderately prepared† |
24. Justice, Freedom & Security | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
25. Science & Research | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
26. Education & Culture | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
27. Environment & Climate Change | Early stage | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
28. Consumer & Health Protection | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage | Early stage |
29. Customs Union | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
30. External Relations | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation |
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation | Good level of preparation |
32. Financial Control | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared | Moderately prepared |
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation | Some level of preparation |
34. Institutions | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | |
35. Other Issues | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | Nothing to adopt | |
Legend: † indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "some level of preparation" AND "moderately prepared". †† indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "moderately prepared" AND "good level of preparation". totally incompatible early stage considerable efforts needed some level of preparation further efforts needed moderately prepared no major difficulties expected good level of preparation well prepared / well advanced |
Clusters | Acquis Chapter | State of Play | Cluster Opened | Cluster Closed |
---|---|---|---|---|
Overview | Overview | 0 out of 33 | 0 out of 6 | 0 out of 6 |
Fundamentals | 23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights | – | – | – |
24. Justice, Freedom & Security | – | |||
Economic criteria | – | |||
Functioning of democratic institutions | – | |||
Public administration reform | – | |||
5. Public Procurement | – | |||
18. Statistics | – | |||
32. Financial Control | – | |||
Internal Market | 1. Free Movement of Goods | – | – | – |
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers | – | |||
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services | – | |||
4. Free Movement of Capital | – | |||
6. Company Law | – | |||
7. Intellectual Property Law | – | |||
8. Competition Policy | – | |||
9. Financial Services | – | |||
28. Consumer & Health Protection | – | |||
Competitiveness and inclusive growth | 10. Information Society & Media | – | – | – |
16. Taxation | – | |||
17. Economic & Monetary Policy | – | |||
19. Social Policy & Employment | – | |||
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy | – | |||
25. Science & Research | – | |||
26. Education & Culture | – | |||
29. Customs Union | – | |||
Green agenda and sustainable connectivity | 14. Transport Policy | – | – | – |
15. Energy | – | |||
21. Trans-European Networks | – | |||
27. Environment | – | |||
Resources, agriculture and cohesion | 11. Agriculture & Rural Development | – | – | – |
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy | – | |||
13. Fisheries | – | |||
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments | – | |||
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions | – | |||
External relations | 30. External Relations | – | – | – |
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy | – | |||
34. Institutions | – | – | – | |
35. Other Issues | – | – | – |
A 2021 poll found that as many as 97% of Albanians are in favour of EU accession. [76]
Member countries | Population | Area (km2) | GDP (billion US$) | GDP per capita (US$) | Languages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | 2,793,592 | 28,748 | 23.032 | 8,057 | Albanian |
EU27 | 447,007,596 | 4,233,262 | 17,046 | 38,957 | 24 |
EU27+1 | 449,801,188 (+0.62%) | 4,262,010 (+0.68%) | 17,069 (+0.13%) | 37,947 (–2.59%) | 25 |
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.
The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the Agreement on the European Economic Area, an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Association. The EEA links the EU member states and three of the four EFTA states into an internal market governed by the same basic rules. These rules aim to enable free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital within the European single market, including the freedom to choose residence in any country within this area. The EEA was established on 1 January 1994 upon entry into force of the EEA Agreement. The contracting parties are the EU, its member states, and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. New members of EFTA would not automatically become party to the EEA Agreement, as each EFTA State decides on its own whether it applies to be party to the EEA Agreement or not. According to Article 128 of the EEA Agreement, "any European State becoming a member of the Community shall, and the Swiss Confederation or any European State becoming a member of EFTA may, apply to become a party to this Agreement. It shall address its application to the EEA Council." EFTA does not envisage political integration. It does not issue legislation, nor does it establish a customs union. Schengen is not a part of the EEA Agreement. However, all of the four EFTA States participate in Schengen and Dublin through bilateral agreements. They all apply the provisions of the relevant Acquis.
The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria, which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.
A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links.
In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets, and financial or technical assistance.
The Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the accession process of prospective new member states and relations with those bordering the European Union (EU). The present Commissioner, as of December 2019, is Olivér Várhelyi.
The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union is the stated aim of the present relations between the two entities. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been recognised by the EU as a "candidate country" for accession since the decision of the European Council in 2022 and is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina takes part in the Stabilisation and Association Process and trade relations are regulated by an Interim Agreement.
Accession of Montenegro to the European Union is on the agenda for future enlargement of the EU.
Serbia applied to join the European Union (EU) in 2009 and has been a candidate for membership since 2012, along with nine other states. Serbia is the largest country in Southeast Europe seeking entry into the EU.
Tonino Picula is a Croatian politician currently serving his third term as a Member of the European Parliament for Croatia, having successfully run in 2013, 2014, and 2019 European elections. He got involved in politics in the early 1990s and had served four consecutive terms as a member of the Croatian Parliament, having been elected in 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2011 parliamentary elections as a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2003 under prime minister Ivica Račan, and as mayor of Velika Gorica from 2005 to 2009.
The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, or simply IPA, is a funding mechanism of the European Union. As of 2007, it replaced previous programmes such as the PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD and CARDS. Unlike the previous assistance programs, IPA offers funds to both EU candidate countries and potential candidates.
Kosovo adopted the euro as its de facto legal tender in 2002 despite the territory not being a member of the Eurozone or the European Union. This succeeded its use of German marks from 1999.
The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.
There are nine recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Kosovo formally submitted its application for membership in 2022 and is considered a potential candidate by the European Union.
The accession of North Macedonia to the European Union has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became an official candidate for accession. The Republic of Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004, thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs) and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others. The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states' governments control every step of the process :
Since the 1980s, member states of the European Union have started to harmonise aspects of the designs of their ordinary passports, as well as common security features and biometrics.
The Berlin Process is an intergovernmental cooperation initiative linked to the future enlargement of the European Union.
Albania–Poland relations are diplomatic relations between the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Poland. Poland was the first Slavic nation to recognize Kosovo as an independent entity, the relationship between two nations is quite low than expected. Nonetheless, two countries have been working closer since the fall of communism at 1989 and there has been strong renewal of relationship between two nations.
The Strategy for the Western Balkans is a policy pursued by the EU with its partners and accession candidates in the western region of the Balkan Peninsula. Announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in his 2017 State of the Union address, this policy brings together the objectives of the global strategy for CSDP and the enlargement policy specific to the states in this region.
Albania needs to implement EU-related reforms credibly, and ensure that its June parliamentary elections are free and fair, if it is to start EU accession negotiations