EU Starts Negotiations With Albania on Its Membership
The second ministerial meeting of the EU Accession Conference with Albania took place in Luxembourg on Tuesday, marking the start of the country's membership negotiations. This was reported by the European Council.
The negotiations include the following areas:
- Functioning of democratic institutions;
- Public administration reform;
- Judiciary and fundamental rights;
- Justice, freedom and security;
- Public procurement;
- Statistics;
- Financial control.
The delegation of the European Union was headed by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on behalf of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the participation of the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi. The Albanian delegation was headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama.
‘Albania is making good progress in the EU accession process, and with the opening of the first, fundamental chapter of the accession negotiations, the country has reached another important milestone in its enlargement efforts.
One of the key priorities of the Hungarian Presidency is to advance EU enlargement, as the European Union needs the new impetus, fresh energy and new perspectives that the Western Balkans can provide. I look forward to seeing Albania's further progress on the road to EU membership,’ Szijjarto said.