Changes from plenary report to adopted text

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part,

– having regard to Albania’s application for EU membership, submitted on 24 April 2009,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2020 entitled ‘Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0057),

– having regard to the EU negotiating framework with Albania approved by the Council in July 2022, which lays out the guidelines and principles for Albania’s EU accession talks,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘New growth plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2023)0691),

– having regard to the Reform Agenda of Albania submitted under the EU’s Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, as approved by the Commission on 23 October 2024,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2025 entitled ‘2025 Rule of Law Report’ (COM(2025)0900), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document entitled ‘2025 Rule of Law Report – Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Albania’ (SWD(2025)0928),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 November 2025 entitled ‘2025 Communication on EU enlargement policy’ (COM(2025)0690), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document entitled ‘Albania 2025 Report’ (SWD(2025)0750),

– having regard to the final report of 23 October 2025 by the Election Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on Albania’s parliamentary elections of 11 May 2025,

– having regard to the declaration of the EU-Western Balkans summit held in Brussels on 17 December 2025,

– having regard to the EU-Western Balkans summits, held in Sofia, Zagreb and Brdo pri Kranju in 2018, 2020 and 2021 respectively, and to the declarations thereof,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Albania,

– having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2026 on the EU enlargement strategy,

– having regard to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, published by Transparency International in February 2026,

– having regard to the World Press Freedom Index 2025, published by Reporters Without Borders in March 2025,

– having regard to the report of 11 June 2025 by the World Economic Forum, entitled ‘Global Gender Gap Report 2025’,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0141/2026),

A. whereas EU enlargement remains a strategic investment in peace, security, stability, and democratic and socio-economic development across the European continent;

B. whereas Albania has maintained a clear and consistent strategic orientation towards EU membership, and has demonstrated full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, including on EU restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus, and by supporting Ukraine in UN General Assembly resolution votes;

C. whereas Albania was granted the status of EU candidate country in 2014, began accession negotiations in July 2022, successfully completed the screening process in November 2023 and opened all negotiation clusters between 15 October 2024 and 17 November 2025;

D. whereas the 2025 Commission Report on Albania confirms that the country continues to make progress in most accession-related areas, while underlining the need for deeper, more consistent and irreversible reforms;

E. whereas the credibility of the EU’s enlargement process depends on strict conditionality, merit-based progress and the effective implementation of reforms, rather than formal adoption of legislation alone; whereas Albania’s EU accession depends on lasting, in-depth and irreversible reforms across the areas covered by the ‘Fundamentals’ cluster of the accession negotiations, starting with the rule of law and the functioning of democratic institutions; whereas the quality of reforms undertaken by a candidate country determines the timetable for accession;

F. whereas the strengthening of democratic institutions, judicial independence, anti-corruption efforts, media freedom and fundamental rights, including minority rights, remains essential for Albania’s accession trajectory;

G. whereas safeguarding the integrity of democratic processes has become a central element of the EU’s enlargement policy; whereas in July 2025, the Albanian Parliament adopted the country’s first national strategy against foreign interference and disinformation;

H. whereas the ODIHR’s recommendations of 23 October 2025, which followed Albania’s parliamentary elections of 11 May 2025, and the ODIHR’s previous recommendations for further improving the conduct of elections in Albania, have not yet been fully addressed;

1. Welcomes Albania’s outstanding commitment to EU integration, based on consensus among all its political parties and overwhelming support among its citizens, and commends the fact that Albania opened all clusters for the accession negotiations within just 13 months; notes that Albanian citizens’ support for EU membership remains consistently high and reflects the strong European aspirations of Albanian society; encourages the country to maintain the current momentum on reform and continue its alignment with the EU acquis, stressing that Albania’s progress on its European path contributes to the stability, security and resilience of the European continent;

2. Takes note of Albania’s ambition of closing accession negotiations by the end of 2027 and welcomes the swift progress made in recent years, in this regard; highlights the need for the Albanian authorities to ensure the thorough implementation of legislation;

3. Notes that both the 2025 Commission report on Albania and the ODIHR’s report on the May 2025 parliamentary elections assess Albania’s electoral framework as broadly adequate for conducting competitive elections, while reiterating concerns related to an uneven playing field for political actors, misuse of administrative resources that blurs the lines between state institutions and party structures, the funding of political parties, vote-buying allegations and pressure on voters; calls, therefore, on Albania’s political majority and its opposition to pursue, constructively and inclusively, a comprehensive electoral reform, in close cooperation with civil society, and to fully implement outstanding ODIHR and Venice Commission recommendations well ahead of future electoral cycles; stresses that such a reform should strengthen the electoral framework, including on campaign finance transparency, equitable media access and safeguards against the misuse of administrative resources, and ensure that the framework is effectively enforced; underlines that broad political consensus and the genuine implementation of these reforms are essential for ensuring public trust in future elections;

4. Expresses concern about continued political polarisation and confrontational political discourse, which undermine parliamentary oversight, public trust and the effective functioning of democratic institutions; encourages political actors to re-engage in constructive parliamentary dialogue, ensuring that the Albanian Parliament remains the central forum for democratic debate and democratic oversight; underlines that a functioning democracy requires meaningful participation of the opposition in parliamentary procedures; recalls that violent protests have no place in a functioning democracy;

5. Encourages stronger parliamentary scrutiny of the executive, enhanced transparency in legislative procedures and more meaningful consultation, at an early stage, with civil society organisations, social partners and independent institutions; stresses that progress in the EU integration process should be pursued without compromising on the quality and inclusiveness of reforms; underlines the importance of adequate stakeholder engagement and national ownership in order to ensure sustainable implementation and lasting impact; stresses the importance of strengthening the role and capacities of Albania’s parliamentary committees, including through improved access to information, expert support and transparent legislative procedures;

Rule of law, judiciary and combating corruption

6. Welcomes the continued implementation of Albania’s judicial reform process, including the vetting of judges and prosecutors, which has contributed to increased accountability and integrity within its judiciary; commends the High Judicial Council for the new appointments of magistrates, contributing to a reduction in the number of vacancies; underlines that safeguarding judicial independence remains essential to the rule of law, alongside continued efforts to further enhance the accountability, quality and efficiency of the judiciary; notes, however, persistent challenges related to judicial efficiency, the effective enforcement of final court decisions, case backlogs, the consistency of jurisprudence and attempts to exert undue influence;

7. Recalls that parliamentary immunity is part of Albania’s constitutional framework, designed to ensure the proper functioning of democratic institutions; emphasises that any decisions in this regard should be taken strictly in accordance with constitutional provisions and established legal procedures, without political interference and without undue delay;

8. Commends the Albanian authorities for the continuous improvement in the efficiency of its Constitutional Court; calls, however, for the broader judicial governance bodies to be strengthened further, and for sustained investment in court infrastructure and digitalisation; recalls that the judiciary continues to face political pressures and threats which risk undermining judicial independence; underlines the importance of timely and full implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court by both the executive and the legislative powers, as an essential element of the rule of law and institutional balance;

9. Regrets that, according to the rankings published in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, Albania has fallen to 91st place, compared to its 2024 ranking of 80th place; stresses that corruption remains a serious concern and that, despite progress made concerning its legal and institutional framework, Albania must further increase its dedicated policing capacity and consolidate its track record of investigations, prosecutions and final convictions, particularly in high-level corruption cases; welcomes the adoption of key anti-corruption legislation, including on whistleblower protection and conflicts of interest, and calls for its thorough implementation; welcomes the continued work of specialised anti-corruption institutions and institutions for combating organised crime, including the Special Structure against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), and calls for their sustained independence, adequate resourcing and sufficient operational capacity to be ensured, without applying limits to their investigative powers or undermining their work; calls for strengthened efforts to ensure the effective tracing, freezing, confiscation and management of criminal assets, including through systematic financial investigations, improved inter-agency and cross-border cooperation, and the full use of confiscation tools in line with fundamental rights;

10. Insists that corruption needs to be addressed at all levels to strengthen citizens’ trust in state institutions and allow for a predictable business environment; calls for strengthened transparency, conflict-of-interest controls, integrity risk assessments and targeted preventive measures in high-risk sectors, notably public procurement and concessions, licensing and inspections, and construction and spatial planning;

11. Calls on Albania to make decisive progress on the initial registration of property and on fair, commonly accepted compensation, improving the transparency of the state property register and the quality of cadastral data in the real estate register, and to ensure that the right to a fair trial and the right to effective judicial protection are respected in cases of expropriation and removal of real estate;

12. Highlights the importance of effectively combating organised crime, including money laundering and drug trafficking networks, and calls for intensified cooperation with EU agencies such as Europol and Eurojust; calls on the authorities to accelerate efforts on aligning Albania’s legal framework on organised crime with the EU acquis, strengthen law enforcement capacity and improve the efficiency of investigations;

13. Welcomes the fact that banks in Albania have officially begun to execute cross-border euro transactions through the SEPA system; commends Albanian authorities for their major efforts in fighting money laundering by adopting the National Strategy for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism 2024-2030; notes the ‘Cashless Albania 2030’ initiative, which aims to tackle the high level of informality in business and illicit cash flows;

Fundamental rights and media freedom

14. Welcomes the fact that, in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Albania has risen in the rankings from 99th place in 2024 to 80th place in 2025; calls for further efforts to be made to protect freedom of expression and media pluralism in Albania, including greater transparency of possible conflicts of interest of media owners, safeguards against political and economic pressure on journalists and the effective investigation of threats and attacks made against media professionals; calls also for increased transparency of media ownership structures and transparent distribution of state advertising, in order to safeguard editorial independence and media pluralism;

15. Strongly condemns the hostility towards independent journalists and media professionals in Albania, including verbal attacks and anti-media rhetoric by high-ranking officials, smear campaigns and misogynistic online harassment, often targeting journalists reporting on the rule of law, corruption and judicial matters; expresses concern, furthermore, regarding the high number of lawsuits against journalists; welcomes the recent changes to Albania’s Criminal Code; regrets, however, that they have not led to the full decriminalisation of defamation and insult, in line with EU and international standards;

16. Calls on the Albanian authorities to promote media and digital literacy as a complementary measure to strengthen the resilience of the information environment, including by integrating media literacy initiatives across the education system, supporting teacher training and modern learning resources, and enhancing cooperation with independent media and relevant EU programmes to promote critical thinking and responsible digital engagement;

17. Encourages Albania to strengthen the institutional framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and vulnerable groups, including Roma and Egyptians, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and LGBTIQ+ persons, and to ensure the effective implementation of anti-discrimination legislation and improved access for ethnic and religious minorities and vulnerable groups to public services, and their meaningful participation in social, economic and political life; is concerned by the anti-gender rhetoric present in Albania’s political discourse; notes that the strengthening of the institutional framework for the protection of minority rights must be accompanied by effective measures that ensure the full and effective implementation of those rights in practice;

18. Calls on the Albanian authorities to ensure sustainable access to education in minority languages for recognised national minorities, and to support the corresponding training of teachers, the development of textbooks and the preservation of cultural identity;

19. Commends the adoption in Albania of the Law on Gender Equality, which is in line with the EU acquis and international human rights standards; expresses alarm, however, at the waves of disinformation and hatred against LGBTIQ+ persons, including smear campaigns against the work of civil society organisations working towards equality for LGBTIQ+ persons; calls on the Albanian authorities to hold persons spreading discriminatory rhetoric accountable before the law; calls for the Albanian Government to draft legal measures, such as registered partnership, to recognise and protect same-sex couples, as per its commitment in the National Action Plan for LGBTI People 2021-2027, and in order to bring Albania’s legislation on human rights in line with the EU acquis;

20. Welcomes the recognition of the long-standing historical presence of the Bulgarian community in regions such as Prespa, Gollobordë and Gora, and encourages the Albanian authorities to ensure full respect for their linguistic, cultural and educational rights, as well as for those of Albania’s other recognised national minorities;

21. Regrets that persistent issues of discrimination and social exclusion affecting minority groups in Albania, particularly regarding access to education, employment and public services, still remain; calls on the Albanian Government to fully align anti-discrimination policies and minority rights with the EU acquis; underlines the need to improve access to justice and political participation, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised groups;