Albania has reached a defining milestone on its path to EU membership. At the eighth meeting of the Accession Conference, held under the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the EU, Member States confirmed that the country has, overall, met the interim benchmarks for Cluster 1: Fundamentals, covering the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, the rule of law chapters and economic criteria.

The decision means Albania becomes the second candidate country, after Montenegro, to meet the interim rule of law benchmarks. With this step, the EU and Albania are now in a position to start closing negotiating chapters, opening a new, more demanding phase of the accession process focused on implementation, solid track records and lasting results.

“Today’s milestone for Albania confirms the fulfilment of the interim benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster. It demonstrates the country’s commitment to further advance its path towards EU membership,” said Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, speaking on behalf of the presidency. “Enlargement is a geopolitical necessity for the EU and a top priority for the Cyprus presidency. It is a merit-based process, in which determined reforms lead to concrete progress towards accession.”

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos described the moment as the result of more than a decade of work by Albania and its people. “Albania adopted laws to protect fundamental rights and vulnerable groups. It strengthened the right to a fair trial. It vetted hundreds of judges and prosecutors. It built new judicial institutions to reduce political influence in the justice system,” she said. “It’s a moment to celebrate. But it is also a moment for Albania to double down on reforms, involve all political forces, listen to civil society and deliver changes that matter to people’s daily lives. A big step forward. And now, back to work.”

Today’s meeting builds on the opening of all negotiating clusters with Albania, concluded with the cluster on Resources, agriculture and cohesion on 17 November 2025. The EU has also set benchmarks for the provisional closure of the chapters under cluster 1, and the Accession Conference will return to this cluster at an appropriate moment. Monitoring of Albania’s alignment with and implementation of the EU acquis and European standards will continue throughout the negotiations.

About the cluster system

Under the revised methodology for accession negotiations introduced in 2020, negotiating chapters are organised into six thematic clusters: Fundamentals; Internal market; Competitiveness and inclusive growth; Green agenda and sustainable connectivity; Resources, agriculture and cohesion; and External relations. The fundamentals cluster is the first to be opened and the last to be closed, and progress under this cluster determines the overall pace of negotiations, making today’s confirmation a particularly significant signal of Albania’s momentum on its European path.