The EU and Albania have provisionally closed accession negotiations on the rules covering enterprise and industrial policy.
The agreement was reached at the second accession conference with Albania held under Ireland’s presidency, the Council of the EU announced on Tuesday.
“I welcome the closure of another chapter on enterprise and industrial policy, at this second accession conference with Albania under the Irish presidency,” Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, stated.
The chapter on enterprise and industrial policy is chapter 20 in Albania’s negotiations to join the EU.
The Council said the step follows the provisional closure of three other chapters in July 2026 — science and research (chapter 25), education and culture (26), and external relations (30).
How far Albania has got in the process
All 33 “screened” negotiating chapters in Albania’s EU accession talks have been opened, and four have now been provisionally closed, the Council said.
Agreements reached on individual chapters are not considered final until an overall agreement is reached across all chapters, according to negotiating principles endorsed by the Accession Conference.
The EU can return to chapters if necessary.
Since 2020, negotiating chapters have been grouped into six thematic clusters, including “Fundamentals”, “Internal market” and “External relations.”
Negotiations on the “Fundamentals” cluster are opened first and closed last, and progress in that area determines the overall pace of talks.
