Why does Von der Leyen come to Tirana so often?

By Fatos Çoçoli

Our country is more developed, more internationally integrated and closer to the European Union than at any other moment in its history so far.

On July 16, 2019, a little over seven years ago, Ursula von der Leyen, the former German Minister of Defense and ideological companion of Angela Merkel, or “Germany’s Iron Lady” (as many called her, because of her strong stands in politics), was elected President of the European Commission, practically the prime minister of a United Europe. Two years ago, in 2024, she was re-elected President of the European Commission, with a mandate through 2029.

Von der Leyen’s sixth visit

In these seven years, she has visited Tirana six times, compared with five times to Belgrade, four times to Podgorica and three times to Skopje. Yesterday was her sixth time.

Chronology of Von der Leyen’s main visits to Tirana:
September 2021: Her first bilateral visit as EC President as part of a Balkan tour
October 2022: Visit focused on the energy crisis and EU financial support for the region
December 2022: Participation in the historic EU–Western Balkans Summit held for the first time in Tirana
October 2023: Official visit ahead of the Berlin Process Summit, also organized in the Albanian capital
October 2024: Visit focused on the EU Growth Plan and the opening of negotiations on the first clusters
September 2026 (yesterday’s visit): Her sixth official regional stop, where Albania’s progress toward closing the negotiating chapters by 2027 was discussed

Why does Von der Leyen come so often?

There are several reasons why the EU’s “prime minister” comes often to Albania. First, during the last decade, 2017–2026, our country has undergone a significant political, institutional and international transformation. It has strongly consolidated its Euro-Atlantic orientation, undertook the deepest justice reform in 2017–2019, modernized the public administration and advanced measurably toward real membership in the European Union.

Second, in May 2026, the European Union confirmed the fulfillment of the interim benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster, which includes the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, the rule of law and economic criteria. Just two months later, in July 2026, Albania closed the first three negotiating chapters: Science and Research, Education and Culture, and External Relations. These are verifiable milestones and not mere political statements.

No democratic transition is linear, and every deep reform faces problems, resistance, institutional shortcomings and criticism. However, the European Commission’s periodic progress reports and the advancement from one negotiating stage to the next show precisely that Albania is gradually managing to address these challenges. And Von der Leyen is well aware of this. Our Albania is moving ever closer to the political and legal standards of the European Union.

Third, in the economy too, the change here is measurable. According to the World Bank, Albania’s economy is expected to grow by 18–22 percent over the next five years, 2027–2031. These rates are particularly significant when compared with the World Bank’s forecast of only 2.8 percent average annual growth for the Western Balkans.

Albania continues to face real challenges, from productivity and emigration, to strengthening institutions, human capital and the fight against corruption.

But the success of a transition is not measured by the absence of problems, but by the ability to identify them, address them and keep moving forward.

In this sense, the economic data, the reports of international institutions (the latest, on September 19, 2026, was Moody’s, which raised our rating) and the pace of the European integration process show that our country is more developed, more internationally integrated and closer to the European Union than at any other moment in its history so far.