Von der Leyen says Albania’s EU goal is in sight

Ursula von der Leyen said Albania’s path to European Union membership is “in sight” during a press conference in Tirana on 30 September 2026, and said the country is among the frontrunners in the accession process.

For businesses and households watching the integration process, the practical message was that Albania has already made progress on several fronts. Von der Leyen said the country opened the final cluster of negotiating chapters and closed its first three chapters in July, including external relations. She said that means Albania is fully aligned with the EU’s common foreign and security policy.

She also said more reforms are still needed across open chapters, including justice, the electoral framework and environmental protection, and said those reforms must be implemented thoroughly. In her remarks, she said the process requires genuine engagement across political lines and continued dialogue with society.

On the EU Growth Plan, von der Leyen said Albania has completed over 80% of the reform steps and has already received 213 million euro in EU funds, with more payments expected in the coming weeks. She said the plan brings more EU investment to Albania while opening parts of the EU single market as reforms are adopted.

Von der Leyen said Albania has joined SEPA, the Single European Payment Area, and said SEPA could save Western Balkan companies around 500 million euro a year. She added that transaction fees in Albania have already fallen by more than 90%.

She also said the EU is reducing roaming charges and that the business matchmaking between European companies and Albanian firms is going strongly. Referring to last year’s first Western Balkan investment conference, she said it mobilised 4 billion euro in new deals for the region and wished equal success for a second edition in November.

Von der Leyen said the European Commission will present its pre-enlargement policy reviews next week, covering institutions, policies and budget, and will set out roadmaps on how to protect democratic values and the rule of law. She said Albania is among the most advanced candidates that will soon receive such roadmaps, which she said will spell out what remains to be done, by when and what progress should follow.

She also said she will visit Emin Duraku school the next morning and recalled that when the 2019 earthquake hit Albania, she had said Europe would stay by the country’s side. She said the EU4Schools programme rebuilt or refurbished 63 schools with EU support.