Albania is one of nine countries attempting to join the EU. What’s the process and is it ready to join?
To become an EU member state each candidate country must meet a series of strict requirements. The accession process consists of three main stages that require approval from all 27 EU countries.
Albania applied for the EU in April 2009 and was granted candidate status five years later, in 2014 - this marked the first step towards accession.
In 2022, Albania progressed to the second stage and began the negotiation process with the European Commission.
Edi Rama, Albania’s Prime Minister, told Euronews that "accession talks are the most incredible know-how source of state-building that humanity has created, thanks to the EU."
"Now, we need to use this know-how transfer at its best to build here a member-like state, a Democratic state, a functioning state with good governance and the rule of law. And then we'll join, hopefully."
Since its establishment in 1957, the EU has expanded seven times, with Croatia being the most recent addition in 2013.
Watch the video above to learn more.
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