During her official visit to Ireland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the progress made by Albania and Montenegro in their EU accession negotiations, emphasizing that both countries are advancing in the enlargement process based on merit.
“Albania and Montenegro continue to make progress in the enlargement process. I very much welcome your strong support for this merit-based approach, as you described it. This support also includes the objective of concluding Montenegro’s accession negotiations by the end of the year,” von der Leyen said.
The European Commission President also recalled the European Union’s historic 2004 enlargement, which took place during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“We have every reason to trust Ireland on this matter because, after all, the historic 2004 enlargement was achieved under the Irish Presidency of the Council. Ireland’s own history reminds us why enlargement is one of Europe’s smartest investments,” she added.
Ireland’s Prime Minister, whose country currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, also reaffirmed his support for candidate countries on their path toward full EU membership.
Albania is currently in the final phase of its accession negotiations after fulfilling the interim benchmarks under the “Fundamentals” cluster.
The country applied for European Union membership in 2009, was granted candidate status in 2014, and officially opened accession negotiations in 2022.
Throughout the negotiation process, Albania has opened all six negotiation clusters. By the end of 2025, the remaining chapters covering resources, agriculture, and cohesion policy had also been opened.
During the Eighth Accession Conference in Brussels, the European Union confirmed that Albania had met the interim benchmarks in the area of the rule of law, allowing the country to move into the final stage of accession negotiations.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has set the goal of securing Albania’s membership in the European Union by 2030.
