The meeting is being chaired by Prime Minister Edi Rama and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, whose country holds the EU Presidency.

Albania is represented at this conference by Prime Minister Edi Rama, Chief Negotiator Majlinda Dhuka, and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Igli Hasani. The Albanian delegation also includes all Deputy Ministers, who represent the sectors of the negotiating chapters under the first cluster- the “Fundamentals.”

After the meeting at around 09:25, Prime Minister Edi Rama and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó are set to hold a press conference.

The meeting serves to open negotiations with Albania for cluster 1, which includes areas and negotiating chapters such as:

The functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform.
Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights

Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom, and Security

Economic Criteria

Chapter 5 – Public Procurement

Chapter 18 – Statistics

Chapter 32 – Financial Control
Following the presentation of the revised methodology for accession negotiations in 2020, the negotiating chapters are divided into six thematic clusters: Fundamentals; Internal Market; Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth; Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity; Resources, Agriculture, and Cohesion; and External Relations.

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Varhelyi wrote in a message on the X platform: “On the margins of the EU-Western Balkans Summit, I discussed with PM Edi Rama Albania’s next steps on its EU path. As we finished the screening exercise, we’re ready to open accession negotiations on Fundamentals – Cluster 1 – in the framework of an Intergovernmental Conference still this year.

Prime Minister Edi Rama is in Brussels on Wednesday, where he is participating in the summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans, which takes place one year after the summit held on December 6 in Tirana, with the participation of the EU and the Western Balkans leaders.
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