Albania

Albania is an Adriatic nation of the Western Balkans, with around 2.4 million inhabitants (2024) and one of the most resolutely pro-European orientations in the region. A candidate since 2014, it opened accession negotiations in 2022 and, by December 2025, had opened all negotiating clusters — 33 chapters in thirteen months.

Alongside Montenegro, Albania is now a frontrunner of enlargement. In 2026 it provisionally closed its first chapters, and Tirana aims to conclude negotiations by 2027. The EU has recognised progress on the fundamentals — judicial reform, anti-corruption, the rule of law — but much remains to be done to consolidate these gains, guarantee free media and ensure inclusive political dialogue. A committed NATO ally and a constructive regional actor, Albania must deepen and protect its democratic maturity at every step.

Albania embodies a conviction dear to the European Democrats: that the European project still inspires and still rewards those who do the hard work of reform — and that the democrats driving that change deserve Europe's full support.