The 7th Albania-EU intergovernmental conference is taking place in Brussels today, where the final chapter of the negotiations, "Agriculture and Cohesion", is expected to be opened. The Albanian delegation will be led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, while Commissioner Marta Kos and Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marie Bjerre, will also be at the table.
So far, Albania has opened five out of six negotiating chapters: Fundamentals, External Relations, Internal Market, Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth, as well as the Green Agenda.
The EU has expressed optimism that the country can complete the integration process by 2030, while Prime Minister Rama has declared membership as the top priority of his fourth governing mandate.
The negotiation process has continued at a rapid pace since 19 July 2022, when Albania sat at the first intergovernmental conference and officially opened the negotiations. On 15 October 2024, under the Hungarian presidency, the second intergovernmental conference was held in Luxembourg, where the first group chapter, that of the Fundamentals, was opened, while on 17 December of the same year, negotiations began on the second chapter, External Relations.
In April and May 2025, the Internal Market and Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth chapters were opened, respectively, while on September 15, 2025, Albania opened negotiations on the fifth chapter, the Green Agenda.
Today's conference, the seventh in a row, is the last in the cycle of opening all six group chapters and is expected to pave the way for the conclusion of the technical process by 2027. After this phase, the country will enter the political integration process, which requires approval of membership by the parliaments of all 27 EU states.