Accession negotiations between Albania and the European Union

European Union Albania

The European Union is considered to be Albania's most important political and economic partner . For example, the majority of Albanian exports go to countries in the European Union . Albania has been an official candidate for membership of the European Union since June 24, 2014 .

The European Union has been supporting Albania since the early 1990s, for example within the framework of the PHARE program.

Signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement

The efforts for Albania's accession to the European Union go back to 2003, when the Balkan state was the first of the so-called “potential accession candidates” to start negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA for short). Later in 2003, in the Thessaloniki Pledge , the EU expressed the prospect of admitting several Balkan countries, including Albania, to the EU.

In May 2005, the then government of Albania under the socialist Fatos Nano expressed the hope of joining the EU in 2014, as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall .

Since 2005 the EU has been supporting the Albanian judiciary as part of the major Euralius project .

In February 2006, the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) was concluded; it was officially signed on June 12, 2006. The ratification of the SAA by all EU states and Albania itself was completed on April 1, 2009. On the same day Albania - together with Croatia  - joined the NATO military alliance .

Visa liberalization

On January 1, 2008, visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the EU came into force with all states of the Western Balkans (except Kosovo ) . Then the European Commission, together with the participating states, submitted timetables for visa exemption. After Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina had fully met the conditions of the timetables, the EU granted visa exemption for these countries from December 15, 2010. It is valid for tourist trips in all Schengen countries for up to 90 days. The prerequisite is that travelers have a biometric passport and are not employed.

Formal membership application

On April 28, 2009, two months before a parliamentary election, Albania submitted the formal application for membership in the EU. On November 16, 2009, the EU Foreign Ministers submitted the application for membership to the European Commission .

The path to EU membership candidate status from 2009

The political crisis in Albania that followed the parliamentary elections in 2009 made negotiations difficult. On May 20, 2010, the chairmen of the two largest political groups in the European Parliament , Joseph Daul ( EPP ) and Martin Schulz ( S&D ), met with the Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha ( PD ) and the opposition leader Edi Rama ( PS ) for a mediation meeting . However, the conversation was unsuccessful and the opposition boycotted parliament for the next few months , in which important laws had to be passed in order to obtain EU membership candidate status. Even after the local elections on May 8, 2011, the crisis remained unsolved. As a result, relations between the EU and Albania also suffered. At the end of 2011, Albania did not meet any of the twelve required criteria for being granted candidate status.

In December 2012, the next EU decision was imminent as to whether or not Albania should receive candidate status. On November 22nd, the European Parliament approved a resolution with 61 votes in favor, one against and two abstentions, according to which the Balkan state should receive the status for the time being, but some important reforms recommended by the European Commission still have to be carried out by December. However, the corresponding laws failed in the Albanian parliament due to the rejection by the socialists under their chairman Edi Rama. The government and the opposition blamed each other for this “blockade”.

Meanwhile, Johanna Deimel , the deputy managing director of the South East Europe Society , reiterated her skepticism about Albania's accession candidate status by December 2012. She said that Albania still had a long way to go and that it would be very difficult to achieve candidate status. It is uncertain whether all 27 members of the European Council would agree. The country must solve its political problems on its own initiative and should not always hope for support from abroad. The urgent reforms must be initiated and the next parliamentary elections in 2013 are also a test for the country, which has been democratically governed for over 20 years . Albania's second chance failed at the end of 2012 because the twelve criteria had still not been met.

The parliamentary elections on June 23 were a test of democratic maturity for Albania, which it passed. It was generally calm. The Democrats under the previous Prime Minister Sali Berisha were clearly defeated by their opponents, the Socialists under the former Mayor of Tirana , Edi Rama. Berisha congratulated his challenger on his victory and resigned from all office, which was a novelty for a prime minister in Albania who failed in the elections.

On September 18, 2013, Prime Minister Edi Rama said in an interview that he was hoping for Albania to join the EU within the next ten years.

In October 2013 the Commission recommended that the Council of the European Union grant Albania candidate country status. Last but not least, the parliamentary elections in June had shown the country's political maturity.

On December 17, 2013, the next EU decision-making round on Albania was held. Nine EU member states had already expressed their position, which they took on December 17 at the EU foreign ministers' meeting. The only opponents for the time being were the Netherlands , who did not see Albania ready for an EU accession candidate. Bulgaria , Estonia , Ireland , Italy , Croatia , Austria , Slovenia and Hungary promoted Albania's commitment. The foreign ministers of the EU countries finally decided to postpone the start of accession negotiations with Albania to June 2014. Until then, the skeptical EU countries should be able to review and assess the ongoing reforms; there were no new demands. The Netherlands, Denmark , Germany , France and Great Britain voted against an early start of negotiations before Christmas 2013. In her first speech in the Bundestag after taking office for the third time as Chancellor, Angela Merkel declared that Germany would continue to fight Albania in the future in the fight against organized crime will support, but the ongoing reforms need to be expanded in order to obtain EU membership candidate status in June 2014.

At the Western Balkans Conference on June 3, 2014 , Bulgaria, Greece , Italy, Croatia, Slovenia , Slovakia and host Austria then publicly wrote a letter to the other EU members calling for Albania to be granted EU membership candidate status. The following day the European Commission recommended this to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament . Then the other EU countries also agreed. Most recently, the Czech Republic threatened to block the award because there was a dispute with Albania over the electricity supply company CEZ Shpërndarje , but ultimately the two countries were able to reach a settlement. On June 24, 2014, Albania officially became a candidate for membership.

Accession negotiations

After the Albanian parliament passed a judicial reform in summer 2016, the EU Commission recommended starting accession negotiations with Albania in November 2016. However, it presupposes the implementation of the judicial reform as a condition. It also requires the unanimous consent of all 27 EU countries.

On June 26, 2018, the EU agreed to start accession negotiations. Talks could begin at the end of 2019, it said in summer 2018.

However, the Netherlands, France and Denmark resisted and accession negotiations could not begin. In September 2019, Stef Blok , the Dutch Foreign Minister, reaffirmed the position of his government cabinet. According to this, Albania must first meet the five demands made in summer 2018 before negotiations can begin. This means that the possible start of the accession negotiations is another year in the future. At least a few days earlier, the German Bundestag had approved the accession negotiations, but they also required reform of the electoral law and the appointment of the Constitutional Court . For the start of the second round of negotiations, the German parliament demanded the implementation of the electoral law reform and significant progress in the fight against corruption. Nevertheless, the start of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania was further delayed in October: France, the Netherlands and Denmark continued to oppose this. The European Commission and Parliament had recommended the opening of talks. In France and other countries, however, there was great skepticism about the upcoming elections. It was not until March 2020 that the responsible ministers of the EU member states agreed to start negotiations with the two Balkan states. With regard to Albania, however, conditions were again set that are required for the start of the talks.

literature

• Michael Schmidt-Neke : Albania on the way to the EU - the European perspective . In: German-Albanian Friendship Society (Hrsg.): Albanische Hefte . 35th year, no. 4 , 2006, ISSN  0930-1437 , p. 12-14, 23-24 . , online

Web links

• Albania in transition: opportunities and obstacles to joining the EU. Konrad Adenauer Foundation , May 21, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European Union: Albania is now officially a candidate for EU membership. Spiegel Online , June 24, 2014
2. ^ Albania: Political & Economic relations. In: European Union - EEAS (European External Action Service). Archived from the original on July 24, 2016 ; accessed on August 5, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Albania is considering joining the EU in 2014. In: Euractiv.com. January 20, 2005, accessed November 17, 2009 . 
4. ↑ http://www.km.gov.al/?fq=brenda&m=news&lid=10893 ( Memento from April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ AFP report from November 16, 2009: google.com/hostednews ( Memento from September 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
6. ↑ EU mediators are trying to save Albania from political chaos . ( Memento of September 20, 2011 on the Internet Archive ) EurActiv , May 20, 2010
7. ↑ PE miraton rezolutën për Shqipërinë. Top Channel , November 22, 2012, accessed November 23, 2012 (Albanian). 
8. ↑ Berisha: Rama të mos bllokojë ligjet. Top Channel , November 23, 2012, accessed November 23, 2012 (Albanian). 
9. ^ Topalli: Rama të mos bllokojë ligjet. Telegrafi.com, November 23, 2012, accessed March 29, 2018 (Albanian). 
10. ↑ Statusi, kërkohen standarde. Top Channel , November 23, 2012, accessed November 23, 2012 (Albanian). 
11. ↑ Albania wants to fight against corruption. In: Euronews . September 18, 2013, accessed September 19, 2013 . 
12. ↑ EC adopts EU enlargement package for remaining non-EU Balkan countries. In: Balkans.com Business News. October 18, 2013, archived from the original on October 20, 2013 ; accessed on October 20, 2013 . 
13. ↑ Statusi, praise per shqiptar në BE (Status, Albanian pro-lobby in the EU). In: Top Channel . December 14, 2013, Retrieved December 16, 2013 (Albanian). 
14. ↑ Dilemat për statusin e Shqipërisë (The dilemma for the status of Albania). In: Top Channel . December 17, 2013, accessed December 18, 2013 (Albanian). 
15. ↑ Arta Tozaj: Statusi shtyhet për në qershor (The status is postponed to June). In: Top Channel . December 17, 2013, accessed December 18, 2013 (Albanian). 
16. ↑ Merkel: Shqipëria të zgjerojë reformat (Merkel: Albania must expand reforms). In: Top Channel . December 18, 2013, accessed December 18, 2013 (Albanian). 
17. ^ Western Balkans Conference in Vienna . APA. In: Salzburger Nachrichten . March 14, 2014 ( article archive ).
18. ↑ Raporti i KE-së: OK statusit, por duhet reformë e thellë në gjyqësor . In: Mapo . June 5, 2014, p. 3 (Albanian, issue on Issue [accessed March 29, 2018]).
19. ^ The Czech Republic and Albania come to an agreement in the electricity dispute. In: focus.de. AWP International, June 24, 2014, accessed June 24, 2014 . 
20. ↑ European Union: Albania is now officially a candidate for EU membership . Spiegel Online , June 24, 2014.
21. ^ APA: EU for accession talks with Albania. In: Kurier.at. November 9, 2016, archived from the original on November 12, 2016 ; accessed on November 12, 2016 . 
22. ↑ FAZ.net: North Africa matters (last paragraph)
23. ↑ EU wants to start accession negotiations with Albania and Macedonia. In: Cash. June 26, 2018, accessed July 14, 2018 . 
24. ↑ Holanda sërish “JO” Shqipërisë, ministri Blok: Negociata kur të plotësohen kushtet (The Netherlands again “no” to Albania, Minister Blok: negotiations only when conditions are met). Top Channel , September 29, 2019, accessed September 29, 2019 (Albanian). 
25. ^ DPA: Bundestag for accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. In: FOCUS Online. September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Volker Pabst: The EU triggers a political crisis in North Macedonia . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . No. 244 , October 21, 2019, p. 17 ( nzz.ch [accessed on October 21, 2019]).
27. ^ Albania Is Expected to Make Further Progress before Sitting at the Negotiations Table. In: Exit. March 25, 2020, accessed on March 26, 2020 .