In an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama emphasizes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has changed the geopolitical context in Europe and thus accelerated Albania’s EU accession process.

He explains: “Something very important has changed, namely the geopolitical context in Europe. And unfortunately, Vladimir Putin’s ‘help’ was necessary to quickly restart the integration processes that had been neglected.”

Rama emphasizes that the European Union must strengthen its ranks and accept new members in order to be complete. However, it is necessary that the candidate countries are willing and able to meet the necessary criteria.

“The EU can exert political pressure to speed up the rapprochement process, but it will not accept anyone who does not meet all the criteria,” Rama said.

Albania aims to become a member of the EU by 2030, with negotiations to be completed by the end of 2027. However, four of the six clusters are still open. Rama remains optimistic, pointing to his country’s hard work and good preparation. In addition, Albania is now using artificial intelligence to speed up the transposition of EU laws into the national legal system.

Regarding the approval of all 27 EU member states for accession, Rama emphasizes that Albania should first focus on fulfilling its obligations. He explains: “We should not think about the next game, but about the one we are playing right now.”

Rama assesses the current situation in the Western Balkans as positive and sees the process of rapprochement with the EU as helpful in resolving existing problems.

In the parliamentary elections on May 11, 2025, Rama and his Socialist Party were able to expand their absolute majority, securing a fourth term in office. He described the result as “historic.”

Albania’s accession negotiations with the EU officially began on July 19, 2022, with the screening process, which was completed on November 24, 2023. The first chapters were opened on October 15, 2024. The EU is Albania’s most important political and economic partner, with around 75% of Albanian exports going to EU countries in 2019 and 60% of imports coming from the EU. The EU has been supporting Albania since the 1990s, including through the PHARE program and the pre-accession instruments IPA, IPA II, and, since 2021, IPA III. In 2021, financial support for Albania amounted to around €70 million, plus €90 million in macro-financial assistance.

Rama’s statements illustrate how geopolitical developments are influencing the EU enlargement process and underscore Albania’s importance as a strategic partner in the region.

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