European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee adopts report on Albania
The Committee on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament approved with 58 votes in favor, 7 against and 7 abstentions the 2025 report on Albania, drafted by the Rapporteur for Albania, Andreas Schieder.
The report assesses Albania's progress on the path towards membership in the European Union and highlights the importance of further reforms to ensure a sustainable and successful membership. The report emphasizes that even deeper and more sustainable reforms are needed, which are essential for strengthening democratic institutions and meeting EU requirements.
The report also assesses Albania's commitment to EU integration, highlighting the broad consensus among political parties and strong support from citizens for this process. The report emphasizes that the objective of the country being ready for membership in 2027 is possible. However, it is underlined that Albania needs to overcome internal political polarization and improve political culture.
It highlights that the OSCE recommendations for Electoral Reform have not been addressed, while concerns are raised about the lack of equality of conditions, misuse of administrative resources, allegations of vote buying, and pressure on voters.
Justice reform is also one of the aspects assessed, as is the vetting process, but it is said that corruption remains a serious concern and it is recommended that Albania further consolidate concrete results in investigations and prosecutions, especially in cases of high-level corruption.
The fight against corruption, says the report, is essential and results are needed to investigate and punish high-level corruption cases.
Albania has opened all chapters of the accession negotiations within 13 months and has taken important steps towards justice reform, with particular appreciation for the work of SPAK.
The report is now expected to be approved in the plenary session of the European Parliament.
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