EU has a ‘surprise’ for Albania: Politico reveals a dedicated strategy for the four frontrunner countries

As Albania has been praised by the European Union as a frontrunner in the region in the integration process and an inter-parliamentary conference on enlargement was held in Tirana on Monday, another positive step is announced from Brussels.

The European Union is drafting an action plan for the membership of Albania and three other candidates — Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova.

For the first time, Brussels is considering setting dates for these four countries to complete the main phases of talks.

As reported by Politico, which cites two senior European Commission officials, the union is preparing a dedicated “roadmap” for Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova, outlining a clear, step-by-step path to membership, with priority reforms, indicative deadlines and targets for completing the negotiation phases.

Under this plan, Albania will have a clear list of reforms and indicative dates for completing the negotiation clusters. In return, EU member states will also have commitments to advance the process.

Albania has already opened all 33 negotiating chapters and in July closed three of them: science and research, education and culture, and external relations.

According to recent reports, the commission is working with the goal of completing Albania’s negotiations by December 2027, but this deadline is still part of the planning and is expected to be formalised within the roadmap.

Politico also stresses that two other dates are decisive: 6 October, when the review of the pre-accession policy is expected to be presented, and 15-16 October, when union leaders will discuss enlargement and internal reforms.

Meanwhile, this week European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to the Western Balkans for talks with the leaders of Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo, but skips Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, which are in the middle of national elections.