Von der Leyen says Albania among frontrunners in EU bid

• Von der Leyen said Albania has opened the final cluster of negotiating chapters and closed its first three in July.
• She said Albania has received 213 million euro in EU funds under the Growth Plan.
• The Commission will present pre-enlargement policy reviews next week.

Ursula von der Leyen said Albania is among the frontrunners in the accession process and has made remarkable progress since her last visit. She said the country opened the final cluster of negotiating chapters and closed its first three chapters in July.

Von der Leyen says Albania among frontrunners in EU bid

Speaking at a joint press conference in Tirana with Prime Minister Edi Rama, von der Leyen said Albania is fully aligned with the EU's common foreign and security policy. She said more reforms are still needed across open chapters, including justice, the electoral framework and environmental protection.

Growth Plan

Von der Leyen said Albania has achieved over 80% of reform steps under the Growth Plan and has already received 213 million euro in EU funds. She said more payments are expected in the coming weeks.

She said Albania has joined SEPA, which she said could save Western Balkan companies around 500 million euro a year. Transaction fees in Albania have already fallen by more than 90%, she said.

Von der Leyen also said the EU is reducing roaming charges and wants to speed up negotiations with Albania and companies. She promised to return on the day roaming surcharges are abolished in Albania if talks succeed.

She said Albania hosted the first Western Balkan investment conference last year and mobilised 4 billion euro in new deals for the region. She wished the second edition, due in November, equal success.

Next Steps

Von der Leyen said the Commission will present pre-enlargement policy reviews next week. She said the work will look at institutions, policies and the budget, and will include roadmaps on protecting democratic values and the rule of law.

She said accession remains merit-based and said Albania is among the most advanced candidates for upcoming roadmaps. Those roadmaps will set out what remains to be done, by when and what progress should follow.

Schools

Von der Leyen said she will visit Emin Duraku school on Friday morning. She said EU4Schools rebuilt or refurbished 63 schools with EU support after the 2019 earthquake in Albania.