Albania and the European Union will hold the 7th Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels on November 17, which will mark the opening of negotiations on the final group-chapter of the accession process: Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion.
This means that Albania has removed all red dots from the "Enlargement Wall" in Brussels.
During a visit to Brussels on the occasion of the opening of the Green Agenda chapters on September 16, the European Union's Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, presented to Prime Minister Edi Rama the "Enlargement Wall", a board showing progress in the EU enlargement process for Albania and other candidate countries.
"This is the 'Expansion Wall'. Albania has moved so fast. When I came in December, almost everything was in red. Red shows that it has not opened yet, yellow that it has opened, and green that it has closed," Kos said at that meeting.
With the opening of the last chapters, Albania has surpassed the opening phase for all chapters.
The meeting on 17 November will include the opening of five chapters: Chapter 11 (Agriculture and rural development), Chapter 12 (Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary), Chapter 13 (Fisheries and aquaculture), Chapter 22 (Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments) and Chapter 33 (Financial and budgetary provisions). This is the last group of chapters that our country opens with the European Union, concluding the first phase of negotiations towards full EU membership.
"Albania achieved the unthinkable, all negotiation chapters opened within 12 months, an absolute record in the European integration process," said Prime Minister Edi Rama a day ago.
Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, Marta Kos, during the publication of the European Commission's 2025 progress report, assessed that "Albania has made unprecedented progress since the intergovernmental conference in October 2024."
"This extraordinary result is a clear sign of Albania's strong political commitment and the European aspiration of this country's society, where 91% of citizens support EU membership," Kos emphasized.
The 7th Intergovernmental Conference comes after a long and structured negotiation process that has included the opening of six previous group chapters.
The first conference was held on July 19, 2022 and officially marked the opening of negotiations with Albania, following the European Council's decision to launch the accession process.
The second conference, on October 15, 2024, opened negotiations on the "Fundamentals" group, which includes chapters on the functioning of democratic institutions, the judiciary, fundamental rights, and financial control.
The third conference, on December 17, 2024, was dedicated to "Foreign Relations", including chapters on foreign, security and defense policy.
The fourth conference, on April 14, 2025, opened negotiations on the "Internal Market" chapter group, including the freedom of movement of goods, capital, and workers.
The fifth conference, on May 22, 2025, focused on “Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth,” including chapters on taxes, social policies, education, and customs.
The sixth conference, on September 16, 2025, addressed the group chapter "Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity", which included energy, transport, environment and climate.
The seventh is the conference that concludes the opening of all negotiation group chapters and is expected to mark a key moment in Albania's rapprochement with the European Union and in preparation for the final phase of integration. /Atsh/
