Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Kos confirmed that Albania is expected to provisionally close another accession negotiating chapter at the 10th EU-Albania Intergovernmental Conference later in the day.

“Last night, Montenegro provisionally closed another three negotiating chapters. Today, we will close one negotiating chapter with Albania and open two negotiating clusters each with Ukraine and Moldova,” Kos said.

She stressed that as enlargement gathers pace, the EU must ensure it becomes stronger and more effective as it expands. To that end, stronger safeguards have been proposed to protect the rule of law and ensure the implementation of reforms.

“As the enlargement process is gaining momentum, we will discuss with member states how to ensure that the European Union becomes stronger as it expands,” the commissioner said.

Kos also highlighted the hybrid threats that candidate countries have faced for years, saying their experience could help strengthen the protection of democracy across Europe.

She said candidate countries would be welcomed into the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, with the aim of enhancing cooperation to safeguard European democracies.

The conference in Luxembourg is expected to formalise the provisional closure of Chapter 20, “Enterprise and Industrial Policy,” bringing to four the number of negotiating chapters Albania has provisionally closed as part of its EU accession process.

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