With the goal of becoming part of the European Union within this decade, Albania has undertaken radical reforms in several sectors, declared Andreas Schieder, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Albania, during a press conference with journalists.

Schieder stated that with the completion of the process of opening all negotiation chapters, Albania could achieve full membership by 2030.

“From a technical point of view, it is possible that in November the final chapter will be opened, which would mean that Albania will have opened and be negotiating all chapters, and that 2026 will be the year when chapters start closing one after another. This is a very strict process; we assess whether the conditions have been met. I am confident that next year most of the chapters will be closed, which means that by 2027 we could have the opportunity for all chapters to be concluded,” said Andreas Schieder.

The Austrian MEP also praised the work of SPAK and emphasized that the justice reform has had a transformative impact on Albania.

“Albania has chosen the most radical way to modernize the judicial system through the vetting process. This process has handled over 800 cases so far. It has been a large and radical process, which came with costs as the number of cases to be handled increased. But now, Albania has young professionals entering the system, and the results are already visible. The young judges and prosecutors must learn the new standards. SPAK is completely independent — more independent than similar institutions in EU countries,” Schieder stated.

Asked about elections and the issues raised in the OSCE/ODIHR report, Schieder stressed that political parties should not turn this document into a tool for political showmanship but should instead reflect on the recommendations provided.

“There is a tendency in Albanian politics to dramatize the situation more than necessary. Some use words about the elections that do not match the report — I tell them to read the report carefully. It discusses many reforms. The report was prepared over many months by OSCE/ODIHR and finds that the elections were technically very good and modern, but there remains a list of reforms that must be undertaken to ensure a more level playing field,” Schieder concluded.