Brussels prepares a dedicated roadmap for Albania and three other EU candidates

Following Albania’s recognition as the region’s frontrunner in the European integration process and the interparliamentary conference on enlargement held in Tirana on Monday, a new positive signal has emerged from Brussels.

The European Commission is working on a dedicated strategy aimed at securing EU membership for Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova. For the first time, it is also considering setting dates for completing the key stages of negotiations for these four countries.

Politico, citing two senior European Commission officials, reports that a dedicated “roadmap” is being prepared for each country. The document is expected to set out the steps towards membership, priority reforms, indicative deadlines and targets for completing the stages of the talks.

For Albania, the plan envisages identifying the reforms that must be implemented and setting indicative dates for closing negotiating chapter clusters. At the same time, European Union member states will also have obligations to help advance the process.

Albania has already opened all 33 negotiating chapters. In July, the country closed three of them: science and research, education and culture, and external relations.

Recent reports indicate that the European Commission aims to conclude Albania’s negotiations by December 2027. However, this target remains at the planning stage and is expected to be formalized through the roadmap.

According to Politico, two other dates are particularly important in the enlargement calendar. A review of pre-accession policy is expected to be published on October 6, while EU leaders will discuss enlargement issues and internal reforms on October 15–16.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit the Western Balkans this week. She is expected to hold talks with the leaders of Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have not been included in the visit because they are in their national election periods.