Speaking at her confirmation hearing with the European Parliament, Marta Kos, Slovenia’s commissioner-designate for Enlargement stated that “today, for the first time in ten years, there is a real opportunity to bring one or two countries closer to the end of the negotiation process. It may happen that we can conclude the negotiations with Montenegro, close all the chapters, until the end of 2026. With Albania until 2027”.

Context: The opening of the first cluster of EU accession negotiations with Albania at the second intergovernmental conference on October 15, marked a significant milestone on Albania’s path toward EU accession. Additionally, the Commission presented to the Council last month the screening report on cluster 6 – External Relations.

The Commission’s 2024 annual enlargement package notes that Albanian authorities ‘have maintained a high level of ambition to move forward in the accession negotiations’. According to the Commission, Albania has continued to make progress, in particular on the comprehensive justice reform and the vetting process, good results in anti-corruption cases, and by increasing its capacities in financial investigations against organised crime. 

Following the opening of negotiations on the fundamentals cluster, the Commission also ‘supports the opening of negotiations on cluster 6 – External Relations towards the end of the year if the positive trend continues’. 

The Commission notes in the 2024 Enlargement Package the Albanian government’s objective to close accession negotiations by the end of 2027 and states that ‘the Commission is ready to support this ambitious objective’. 

Marta Kos is expected to be a dedicated Commissioner for enlargement in the new European Commission, while in the current Commission, which will conclude its term this fall, the Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi is also responsible for the EU’s neighbourhood policy. His portfolio is only partially focused on enlargement, as it also includes responsibility for countries from Eastern Europe to North Africa that fall within the EU’s neighbourhood policy.

The move marks the return of Enlargement policy to the top of the EU’s political agenda. Commission President Von der Leyen has linked this ‘new life into the enlargement process’ to the current geopolitical circumstances. She stated that ‘Russia’s full-fledged war in Ukraine is for Europe a turning point like 1989. We live in a different world, and we are forced to rethink our policies and objectives. If making Europe economically competitive and capable of defending itself is our fundamental objective, then I see the Western Balkans’ integration in the European Union as critically important.’