The 10th Albania-EU Intergovernmental Conference formally confirmed the provisional closure of Chapter 20 on enterprise and industrial policy. The chapter covers business development, innovation and economic competitiveness.

Byrne pointed to Albania’s progress since it met interim rule-of-law benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 in May. The country then provisionally closed its first three negotiating chapters in July, followed by Chapter 20 in October.

However, Byrne urged Albania to maintain the pace of reforms and implement the European Commission’s recommendations. He said the Commission’s 2026 report would assess progress and identify areas requiring further action.

He added that reforms would bring Albania closer to EU standards while strengthening its institutions, economy and society. Byrne also reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to advancing accession talks during its EU Council presidency, with the aim of provisionally closing more chapters.