The eighth meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania confirmed that Albania has, on the whole, met the interim criteria of the so-called Group 1: Foundations. This group covers, in particular, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, the rule of law and economic criteria. “The milestone reached today by Albania confirms the fulfilment […]
Enlargement Package 2025 shows progress towards EU membership by the main enlargement partners
On 4 November, the European Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package, which presents a comprehensive assessment of the progress made by the enlargement partners over the last twelve months. This year’s package reaffirms that the momentum of enlargement is high on the EU’s agenda of priorities. It also confirms that the accession of new Member […]
28 ‘Ndrangheta associates arrested for drug trafficking and violence
Europol has supported Italian law enforcement in dealing a heavy blow to the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organisation. In an action day conducted on 8 July 2025 across Italy, Spain and Albania, special intervention teams have arrested 28 suspected criminals of Italian and Albanian nationality. Among the individuals taken into custody is an Italian national from the […]
Immigration law enforcement in the EU: 2023 figures
In 2023, 118 935 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory at one of its external borders, a 16% decrease compared with 142 420 in the previous year. An additional 1.27 million people were found to be illegally present in one of the EU countries, indicating a 13% increase compared with 1.12 million in 2022. This information […]
Enlargement: how do countries join the EU?
EU enlargement is a way to foster peace and stability in Europe, increase prosperity for Europeans and create opportunities for companies. Countries preparing to join benefit from closer ties with the EU, stronger support for fundamental rights as well as from funding and expertise from the EU to make the process easier. In November 2023, […]
Council will sign agreement with Albania on Frontex cooperation
The Council adopted a decision to sign an agreement with Albania on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The agreement will allow the organisation of joint operations and the deployment of Frontex border management teams in Albania. The deployment of Frontex teams will be subject to the country’s […]
Intergovernmental Conference at Ministerial level on the Accession of Albania
On 19th July the EU opened accession negotiations with Albania. This follows a decision by the Council on 25 March 2020 to open accession negotiations, which was endorsed by the members of the European Council on 26 March 2020, as well as the approval by the Council on 18 July 2022 of the Negotiating Framework […]
Josep Borrell’s statement on the alignment of some countries regarding measures threatening Ukraine’s independence
On 21 April 2022, the Council adopted Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/6601. The Council decided to add two individuals to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out in the Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania2, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and […]
Cooperation Agreement between Eurojust and Albania enters into force
The Cooperation Agreement between Eurojust, which is the organism of the European Union responsible for strengthening judicial cooperation between the Member States, and the Republic of Albania entered into force on 1 November, all requirements regarding data protection having been fulfilled. This Cooperation Agreement is the third between Eurojust and a country in the Western Balkans, […]