Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Elisa Spiropali met today with the European Parliament Rapporteur for Albania, Andreas Schieder.
Schieder is a key advocate of the EU enlargement process and a strong supporter of Albania’s EU membership.

Spiropali said the meeting focused on the European Parliament’s special role in monitoring accession negotiations.
They also discussed the upcoming report on Albania, which aims to reinforce positive perceptions of the country’s progress and guide the next steps in the accession process.

“We shared assessments on the current progress of negotiations, on deep reforms—especially in the rule of law and fundamental rights—and on the unwavering commitment of our foreign policy to align with the EU, including values, policies, and positions,” Spiropali stated.

The discussion also covered the timely achievement of intermediate benchmarks (IBAR), a decisive step that would pave the way for closing negotiation chapters.
This would place Albania in 2026 on a more concrete and measurable path toward EU membership.

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