“Albania advances towards EU, today closes first three chapters

The Albanian delegation, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, will sit down today at the ninth intergovernmental conference with Brussels to close chapters 25, 26, and 30, namely for science and research, education and culture, as well as Foreign Relations, areas in which Albania is considered fully joined by European Union standards.

Reference to the agenda, the 9th Intergovernmental Conference begins at 7: 00 a.m. and then shapes the closure of chapters. At 8:00, the press conference is held regarding Albania's performance towards the EU.

A super Tuesday for enlargement awaits us. On Tuesday, more accession conferences will be chaired within a day since 2002”, Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, whose country currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, said.

The closure of 3 chapters comes after Albania passed one of the most important stages -- that of the intermediate milestones, the so-called IBAR, amid many discussions and controversy over meeting discussions.

With the closing of the first 3 chapters, Albania will have to meet the closing conditions for the remaining 30 chapters as well, in order to achieve the target agreed on with the EU to complete the technical process by 2027.

The decision will then be fully political, and Albania's path to the EU will have to be passed by the parliaments of the 27 Union member states.

Also, Montenegro, a country leading the accession process, will close two more chapters Tuesday: Chapter 8 of Competition and Customs Union Chapter 29. With the two new chapters, Montenegro will have 18 chapters closed by 33 in negotiations.

Even Serbia, according to Belgrade's will and the European Commission's recommendation, was scheduled Tuesday to launch negotiating group 3, but more than eight states said no. /Periscopi/