The Council of the European Union has decided to open another 8 chapters in the membership negotiations with Albania. The chapters were opened within the "Competition and Inclusive Growth" cluster. This is reported by UNN with reference to the official statement of the EU Council.
Details
On Thursday, May 22, Brussels hosted the fifth meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania, which marked the beginning of negotiations on the so-called cluster 3: competitiveness and inclusive growth.
This cluster includes the following negotiation chapters:
- Digital transformation and media,
- Taxation,
- Economic and monetary policy,
- Social policy and employment,
- Entrepreneurship and industry policy,
- Science and research,
- Education and culture,
- Customs union.
In addition, benchmarks have been set for the early closure of these sections.
It is noted that the European Union has already opened negotiations with Albania in the "Fundamentals", "External Relations", and "Internal Market" clusters.
Negotiations between the EU and the candidate country are conducted in six thematic clusters: "Fundamentals", "Internal Market", "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth", "Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity", Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion", "External Relations". The "Fundamentals" cluster is opened first and closed last. Clusters are necessary to monitor the process of harmonizing the legislation of the candidate country with EU legislation.
Recall
On October 15, 2024, Luxembourg hosted the second meeting of the EU Accession Conference with Albania at the ministerial level, which marked the beginning of actual negotiations on the country's membership.