TIRANA, Sept 16 /ATA/ Albania opened four additional chapters today in its EU accession negotiations.
At a joint press conference in Brussels alongside the Prime Minister Edi Rama and Denmark’s Minister for European Affairs, Marie Bjerre, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos described Albania’s progress in EU integration process as impressive.
European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, highlighted today that only one negotiation cluster remains to be opened in Albania’s EU accession process — expressing strong confidence that it will be opened in the near future.
“Though I’ve yet to complete a full year in office, this marks the fourth cluster we’ve opened with Albania during my term. That brings the total to five clusters and 28 chapters opened. Only one cluster remains, and I am fully confident it will be opened soon,” Kos stated.
She further noted that the Danish EU Presidency, along with Member States, remain fully committed to advancing the process as soon as Albania fulfills the necessary criteria.
“If I may use Olympic terminology, it means faster, higher, stronger, and teamwork. As you have emphasized, there is a strong triangle supporting the entire integration process, reflecting its nature as a geostrategic necessity,” Kos said.
Kos went on to underscore that while reforms demand deep, structural change, Albania has shown that meaningful progress is achievable.
“We fully recognize that the reforms we ask of our candidate countries are often challenging — requiring profound and structural transformations. However, your country, dear Prime Minister, is proving that it is doable. Albania is showing that meaningful progress is possible, and that the EU indeed rewards such positive developments,” said Commissioner Kos.
Kos further emphasized that Albania must maintain this momentum, involving the parliament, civil society, and the private sector, to successfully close the chapters by 2027.
“You should maintain the momentum, ensuring the inclusion of parliament, civil society, and the private sector, as broad national consensus enhances social acceptance and progress, especially in critical areas such as judicial reform, judicial independence, the fight against corruption, property rights, minority issues, and media freedom, so that interim benchmarks are met. This is crucial for us to begin closing chapters as soon as possible and to achieve your ambition of completing them all by 2027,” Kos stated.
Kos also addressed the cluster opened today.
“The cluster we opened today is called ‘Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity.’ The reforms it includes help ensure that Albania’s economic growth goes hand in hand with the protection of Albania’s extraordinary natural wealth. They aim to protect natural resources, improve wastewater management, and reduce air pollution. The transport sector within this chapter will support the expansion of roads, the improvement of transportation, and the connection of Albania to European systems, while the energy sector will promote fair competitiveness by strengthening competitiveness and also increasing the use of renewable resources. This will bring improvements for Albanian citizens,” Kos said.
Kos concluded her statement by emphasizing that “Albania’s future is in the EU, there is no doubt about that, and today we are one step closer to achieving this goal.”
/m.q//r.e//a.f/sm/
