News24 Albania – Gjipali / When Will Albania Join the EU?, September 22, 2025

In an interview with News24, Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of the European Movement in Albania (EMA), stated that setting 2027 as the target year for closing EU accession negotiations is both a promise and an ambitious commitment. He emphasized that this objective requires deep reforms, significant legal changes, and a fundamental transformation of the country’s legislation and administrative structures. According to him, this process is achievable only if it is accompanied by full political will, both from state institutions and from non-state actors.

Gjipali further underlined that another decisive factor is Brussels’ stance: on one side, the position of the European Commission, and on the other, that of the EU member states, where key countries such as France, Germany, and Austria often show hesitation and express reservations about enlargement. He reiterated that Albania is working to recover lost time, noting that the joint accession track with North Macedonia had caused considerable delays. According to Gjipali, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has pointed out that more negotiating clusters have been opened this year alone than in the previous five years combined.

In his assessment, the 2030 membership target remains possible, but it demands extraordinary political commitment, a heavy administrative workload, and a packed legislative agenda. Gjipali also drew attention to the restructuring of the former Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs into the Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration in Albania, which, in his view, will play a crucial role in the progress of negotiations.

News24 Albania – Gjipali / When Will Albania Join the EU?, September 22, 2025