Diplomatic relations between Albania and the European Economic Community were established in June 1991. In May 1992, the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation was signed, which was also accompanied by the signing of the Joint Political Declaration Albania – European Community. Albania was the first country in the region to sign such an agreement.

The Zagreb Summit of November 2000 launched the Stabilization-Association Process for the 5 countries of Southeast Europe, including Albania. Negotiations with Albania for the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement were officially opened in 2003.

At the June 2003 Thessaloniki summit, the EU officially confirmed the prospect of EU membership for all countries participating in the Stabilization-Association Process.

A key element of this process is the Stabilization-Association Agreement, which was signed on June 12, 2006.

The entry into force of this Agreement on April 1, 2009, marked a new, more advanced phase of Albania’s relations with the EU, conceived as a contractual relationship with reciprocal obligations and rights. between the parties. This Agreement replaced the interim Agreement that was in force for the parties since December 2006 and aimed at a gradual approach to the political, economic and social integration of Albania with the EU.

On April 28, 2009, Albania submitted to the Council of the EU the application for membership.

On June 27, 2014, Albania received the status of a candidate country. The Council defined the five main priorities (public administration, rule of law, fight against corruption, organized crime, fundamental rights) that Albania had to fulfill before the start of membership negotiations.

On March 25, 2020, the EU General Affairs Council decided to open membership negotiations with the Republic of Albania, taking into account the progress achieved in the reforms and the fulfillment of the conditions set unanimously from the Council of June 2018.

On March 26, 2020, the European Council approved the decision of the EU General Affairs Council to open membership negotiations with Albania.

The first EU-Albania intergovernmental conference for the opening of Albania’s EU membership negotiations was held on July 19, 2022.

Albania has successfully completed the analytical review process of the EU acquis with the European Commission from September 2022 to November 2023.

Political Dialogue Albania – EU

Albania is a negotiating country with the EU and has officially started EU membership negotiations on July 19, 2022.

Albania’s relations with the European Union, based on our national objective of EU membership, are strategic and a priority of Albania’s internal and external policy.

The EU-Albania political dialogue accompanies and consolidates relations between the European Union and Albania and contributes to establishing close bonds of solidarity and new forms of cooperation between the parties.

Within the Stabilization-Association Agreement (SAA), the Albania-EU political dialogue takes place in the format of the Stabilization-Association Council (SAC). The Stabilization-Association Council meets once a year to make a general assessment of the implementation of the SAA and examines any important issue that arises in the context of its implementation.

Also, at the parliamentary level, the political dialogue between Albania and the EU takes place within the framework of the SAA, which foresees the establishment of the Inter-parliamentary Stabilization-Association Committee with members of the European Parliament and the Assembly of Albania.

Within the membership negotiations, the Albania-EU political dialogue takes place in the format of intergovernmental conferences.

Political Dialogue Western Balkans – EU

Albania is part of the Western Balkans region. The EU-Western Balkans Political Dialogue takes place within the EU-Western Balkans Heads of State/Government Summits.

For the first time, the EU-Western Balkans Summit was held in Sofia in May 2018. The priority agenda of Sofia outlined new measures for enhanced cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans, in the areas of strengthening support for the rule of law and good governance, strengthening commitment to security and migration, supporting socio-economic development with a special focus on young people, increasing connectivity, starting a digital agenda for the Western Balkans and supporting reconciliation and good neighborly relations in the Western Balkans.

Since then, the Summit of EU Heads of State and/or Government for the Western Balkans has been held in Zagreb in 2020, Brdo in 2021, Tirana in 2022 and Brussels in 2023.</p data-wahfont=”13″> p>

The successful organization in Tirana, for the first time in the Western Balkans region, of the Summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans, in December 2022, showed an increased geostrategic attention of the EU to the Western Balkans region, especially in the context of the many security challenges in Europe and brought a clear message about their future in the EU and the need to speed up the European integration process of the Western Balkan countries.

Visa liberalization process

In March 2008, the Visa Liberalization Dialogue between Albania and the European Union was launched. The roadmap for Albania was officially submitted in June 2008, to continue with the process of fulfilling the criteria defined in this document by our country.

Based on the fulfillment of the criteria of the Guide, on December 15, 2010, the visa-free regime for the movement of Albanian citizens towards the “Schengen” area came into force.