Flash News

When Parliament begins to represent the prison

Tirana/ 40-year-old woman drowns herself in Dry Lake

Today is the hottest day of the year, here are the areas where the thermometer will mark over 40 degrees

Messi doesn't stop, sets another historic record at the World Cup

Foreign exchange, the rate at which foreign currencies are sold and bought

E-TJERA

Albania closes three negotiation chapters, but lags behind in fundamental reforms

Politiko 2026-07-16 11:11:00
Albania closes three negotiation chapters, but lags behind in fundamental

Albania has marked another step in the European Union accession process, temporarily closing three negotiation chapters. 

However, according to the analysis published by EUNews.it, despite technical progress, the country still lags behind in implementing fundamental reforms that will determine the pace of negotiations until membership, writes politiko.al. 

Thus, the European Union decided to close three chapters for Albania: Science and Research (25), Education and Culture (26) and External Relations (30). These are the first chapters that Tirana has managed to close, less than two months after the EU assessed that the country was ready to move to this phase of negotiations.

However, according to EUNews.it, these chapters are considered among the least problematic in the negotiation process and do not directly affect the reforms that Brussels considers crucial for membership.

Irish Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, whose country holds the current presidency of the Council of the European Union, congratulated Albania for the "significant progress", but at the same time called on Tirana not to slow down the pace of reforms.

"Albania has made significant progress. It must now continue with fundamental reforms to move forward in the coming months ," Byrne declared, quoted by EUNews.it.

Montenegro far ahead
On the same day, Montenegro once again confirmed its position as the most advanced country on the path to the European Union.

Montenegro provisionally closed two more negotiation chapters, bringing the total number of closed chapters to 18. According to Thomas Byrne, Montenegro is now more than halfway through the negotiation process and remains the "leader" of enlargement.

Meanwhile, Moldova, although at an earlier stage, has also begun opening a new set of negotiation chapters.

Latest news