The question of European Union enlargement has long been a long and endless process of waiting. However, recent geopolitical developments have changed the rules of the game. Whereas EU membership used to be a very distant and almost unattainable prospect for the Western Balkans, today Albania is the country that Brussels considers a “potential candidate for the next decade.” This is not because it is geographically convenient and favorable, but because reforms, public support, and innovations, as well as the new security context, make its accession to such a strong union as the EU a logical and inevitable step by the end of 2029.

Negotiations on Albania’s accession to the EU are now proceeding according to a new methodology, whereby 35 chapters of European law are grouped into six so-called “clusters.” They cover all key areas such as: Fundamentals (rule of law, anti-corruption, public administration) Internal Market (freedom of movement and competition Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth (econome, taxes, degitalisation , education) Green Agenda ( energy, transport, ecology) Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion ( foreign policy and security). Albania had already opened «Fundamentals» in October 2024, and in 2025 it has added «External Relations», «Internal Market» and «Competitiveness».

This means that country not only declares reforms but also actually moves forward approaching the final stage – the closure of «Fundamentals», which will become a formal signal of readiness for further membership. Senior EU leaders, including the President of the European Commission and a number of key countries—Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary have consistently emphasized the importance and necessity of promoting the Western Balkans along the European trajectory, and Brussels has launched «a Growth Plan» and financial package aimed at accelerating the region’s convergence with the EU. High-level political momentum, combined with reforms in candidate countries, is creating an open door opportunity that Albania is effectively exploiting.

The most pressing issue for many countries is the rule of law. Albania deserves great credit for implementing one of the most extensive and significant judicial vetting processes in Europe, which involves thorough checks of judges and prosecutors for competence and integrity, as well as the reorganization of courts and the creation of special structures to combat corruption (SPAK and other institutions). These are not just superficial declarations, but the largest international monitoring reports, which record real, significant changes while clearly highlighting the remaining problems and offering possible solutions to this stagnation. If vetting and accountability mechanisms confirm sustainable results by 2026-2027, the fundamental cluster can be successfully completed.

There are few words of support – an important “tool” for bringing the economy to EU standards is important. For the Western Balkans, the EU adopted the Growth Plan and Reform & Growth Facility (about €6 billion for the region for 2024-2027), and Albania expects to receive a significant share (estimated ~€920–922 million until 2027). These funds are not only investments, but also a tool for conditional acceleration of reforms (contract “reforms → money → market integration”). The rapid influx of investment, infrastructure modernisation and access to “mirror” markets increase the political price of deferrals in European capitals and facilitate the fulfilment of economic membership criteria.

The revised EU accession methodology of 2020 introduced three guiding principles — credibility, predictability, and dynamism. It also made clear that candidate states able to move faster may do so, thanks to transparent opening and closing benchmarks within the negotiation clusters. For Albania, this effectively provides a roadmap: by completing reforms in areas such as the rule of law and public administration, Tirana can unlock clusters more quickly and work toward closing them in an accelerated sequence. With political momentum coming from Brussels, this creates a realistic prospect that negotiations could be wrapped up by 2027–2028, leaving only the formal steps of signing and ratification by EU member state parliaments.

In conclusion, Albania has already taken some important steps towards EU accession, ranging from large-scale judicial reforms to opening negotiations on access to a major regional financial package. It could formally join the EU by the end of 2029, provided that Tirana, the capital of Albania, consistently implements the reform roadmaps and the EU capitals coordinate politically and agree on ratification.

Used resources and information:

1. European Commission — Albania Report 2024 (Enlargement package).
https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/albania-report-2024_en
2. European Commission — Enlargement reports 2024 (press release).
https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/enlargement-reports-2024-commission-outlines-progress-and-priorities-candidate-countries-2024-10-30_en
3. Accession Conference with Albania — opening of competitiveness & inclusive growth cluster (22 May 2025).
https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/accession-conference-albania-eu-opens-negotiations-competitiveness-and-inclusive-growth-cluster-2025-05-22_en
4. Growth Plan for the Western Balkans — European Commission (Reform & Growth Facility €6bn).
https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/growth-plan-western-balkans_en
5. European Commission — Rule of Law Report 2025 (country chapter: Albania).
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/3732ae59-5ab4-48a6-a3e6-0ef9aa593863_en?filename=2025+Rule+of+Law+Report+-+Country+Chapter+Albania.pdf
6. New Lines Institute — «A Disastrously Successful Judicial Reform» (анализалбанской vetting).
https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Alb-3-Judicial.pdf