Albania has begun negotiations with the European Union on the final accession talks, according to the European Commission.
It marks the formal opening of talks on the last of six thematic clusters, required for Albania’s potential accession to the EU.
The cluster includes areas such as agriculture, fisheries, food safety, and policies designed to strengthen cohesion among EU member states.
The President of Albania tweeted enthusiastically of the progress the country has made towards alignment with EU standards.
It follows previous negotiations on the first cluster, known as "Fundamentals," which includes rule of law and democratic standards, and clusters covering internal market regulations, competitiveness and inclusive growth, green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and external relations.
Those discussions took place between October 2024 and September 2025.
Next steps
EU officials said Albania’s progress will continue to be monitored to ensure alignment with the bloc’s laws and standards, known as the acquis.
Under a revised methodology introduced in 2020, candidate countries negotiate in six topic-based clusters, starting with the 'Fundamentals' cluster.
Negotiations on the Fundamentals are opened first and closed last, and progress influences the pace of the entire accession process.
