Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

This report evaluates the state of play and latest developments regarding Albania’s progress in joining the EU. It encompasses Parliament’s response to the Commission’s enlargement report of 2025.

Albania has been an EU candidate country since 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 in a record time of just over a year.

In this and the next year, Albania will need to maintain the momentum to deliver on its goal of being ready for EU accession by the end of 2027. This would allow the Member States to proceed with the ratification of the accession treaty for Albania to enter the EU by the end of the decade. In this next phase, effective implementation of adopted reforms on the ground will be essential.

This report assesses Albania’s progress regarding its democratic institutions, media freedom, involvement of civil society, fundamental rights, rule of law, socio-economic reforms, environment, regional cooperation and foreign policy.

Despite the progress achieved, Albania still faces several challenges such as overcoming internal political polarisation and improving political culture, strengthening the rule of law and consolidating anti-corruption reforms.

This year’s report places particular focus on socio-economic reforms and highlights the key importance of genuine social dialogue for delivering benefits of enlargement to all segments of the population.