2026-10-11 22:10:49Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Albania's membership in the European Union may not immediately grant Albanians the unrestricted right to work in any member state.

The European Commission expects the upcoming enlargement to be accompanied by transitional measures for the free movement of workers, similar to those used in previous enlargements.

In the last three enlargement rounds, these measures allowed for the gradual opening of labour markets to citizens of the new countries. In its new analysis, the Commission says a similar approach can be expected in future enlargements.

According to the described model, each member state could have the flexibility to decide whether to immediately apply European free movement rules or to temporarily use national measures for the access of workers from newly acceded countries.

The Commission also envisages the possibility, before accession, of assessing the impact that opening the labour market to citizens of a candidate country would have on existing countries.

This does not mean that a decision has been made on restrictions against Albanians. The duration and form of any measure will depend on the negotiations and the future Accession Treaty.

But the document makes clear that the free movement of workers is one of the areas where Brussels is preparing for transitional measures.

The Commission itself, in presenting the package on 6 October, confirmed that such agreements can be used when necessary for the movement of workers and services.

This means that for Albanian citizens the date of EU membership and the date of full access to all European labor markets may not necessarily be the same.


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