According to the Standard Eurobarometer published in the spring of 2024, 87% of Albanians support joining the European Union, making Albania the leading candidate for accession. The main reasons behind this strong support include the desire for economic prosperity and the aspiration for greater study and work opportunities within the EU. Despite these encouraging premises, the path to accession is filled with challenges, and while the 2030 deadline appears plausible, it remains highly ambitious.
The EU Enlargement Process as a Stabilizer for the Balkans: The Case of Albania
EU enlargement is the process by which new countries join the EU after meeting the accession criteria, known as the Copenhagen Criteria, which are divided into:
- Political criterion (democracy, rule of law, human rights, and minority protection)
- Economic criterion (a functioning and competitive market economy)
- Legal criterion (alignment with EU laws)
Any European state that respects the EU’s democratic values and commits to promoting them can apply for membership. Despite the formal parameters, it is crucial to remember that EU enlargement remains a political decision requiring approval from the European Council and the European Parliament. The success of the accession process is therefore subject to the discretion of the heads of state of EU member countries, who tend to prioritize national interests.
The enlargement policy reflects a narrative of integration and transformation, guaranteeing prosperity for aspiring countries while testing the adaptability and absorption capacity of EU institutions. As Europe’s borders extend eastward, the debate on inclusivity and European identity becomes increasingly relevant. Given recent geopolitical developments such as the war in Ukraine and NATO’s uncertain future with the newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump, the EU must carefully decide whether to embrace the new opportunities offered by European integration or focus on consolidating the European project, which is threatened by a wave of Euroscepticism spreading among member states, including founding countries like Italy, France, and Germany.
Since 2000, the European Union has pursued an ambitious path to foster the integration of the Western Balkans through the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP), offering a concrete accession perspective to aspiring EU members.
Albania stands out as one of the most promising candidates for becoming the EU’s next member. EU-Albania relations date back to the 1990s, a period in which Tirana faced a severe economic crisis and growing social tensions following the collapse of the communist regime led by Enver Hoxha, a controversial figure who still polarizes Albanian public opinion.
Officially recognized by the European Commission as a “potential candidate” in the early 2000s, Albania formally applied for EU membership on April 28, 2009, and signed a visa facilitation agreement, granting Albanian citizens the right to free movement within the Schengen Area.
Although the European Council unanimously granted candidate status in 2014, Albania only launched accession negotiations last October during an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg. The opening of negotiations was made possible by separating Albania’s accession process from that of North Macedonia, whose progress remains stalled due to deteriorating relations between the nationalist government in Skopje and neighboring EU member states.
What Does Albania Still Lack in 2024 for EU Accession?
According to the latest report by the European Commission, published on October 30, 2024, Albania has made significant progress over the past year in its EU accession path, officially opening the first chapter of negotiations. This milestone reflects Tirana’s concrete commitment to reforming democratic institutions, the judiciary, and human rights protection to align with European standards.
However, the lack of effective oversight mechanisms for the executive branch and the absence of a constructive and inclusive dialogue—due to political polarization between the government and the opposition, as well as weak civil society participation—undermine the proper functioning of the Albanian Parliament.
In the field of public administration, a crucial sector requiring immediate and decisive interventions, the near-complete implementation of judicial reforms has led to the removal of over 60% of magistrates involved in corruption and organized crime collusion. Nevertheless, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Albania ranks 98th out of 180 countries, with a score of 37 out of 100.
Additionally, freedom of expression remains a structural issue in Albania. The media sector is frequently subjected to political and economic interference, often exercised pervasively through organized crime involvement, undermining media independence and restricting the full exercise of the right to free and pluralistic information.
Albanian journalists face precarious working conditions and weak institutional protections. Unstable employment, partially declared salaries, and delayed payments negatively impact social benefits, particularly affecting women, as underreported wages reduce maternity leave payments below expected levels.
Both in rural areas and urban centers like Tirana, journalists are increasingly prone to self-censorship due to pressure from business owners and political authorities demanding article removal or modification. In 2024 alone, Albania recorded 45 cases of journalist rights violations, including physical violence, defamation, harassment, legal threats, and intimidation.
To make matters worse, female journalists frequently face sexual harassment, defamation campaigns, violent and sexist language, hate speech, and fake news. Despite the severity of these issues, many female media professionals refrain from reporting abuses due to distrust in institutions and fear that such incidents could attract unwanted media attention, potentially jeopardizing their careers.
Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence in Albania is a complex and challenging issue, marked by a stark contrast between institutional efforts to promote gender equality—such as signing international agreements like the Istanbul Convention on violence against women—and the persistence of a traditional patriarchal culture rooted in rigid gender roles and an honor-and-shame system.
According to data from the State Police reported by Euronews Albania, in the first six months of 2024 alone, 1,019 cases of abuse and violence against girls and women were recorded. This figure is expected to surpass the 1,378 and 1,371 cases registered in 2022 and 2023, respectively, by the end of the year.
A 2018 report by UN Women Albania, in collaboration with UNDP, revealed that one in two women (52.9%) reported experiencing at least one form of violence (physical, sexual, psychological, economic, harassment, or stalking) at least once in their lives, and one in three within the last 12 months. While three out of four surveyed women consider gender-based violence one of the most urgent and severe social problems, one in two believes that domestic violence should be considered a private matter. When women do not seek help, it is often because they believe their situation is not serious enough (47.8%) or fear bringing shame to their families (12%). Source: National Population Survey 2018: Violence Against Women and Girls in Albania
Social norms deeply influence the dynamics of gender-based violence, often fostering a culture of passive compliance. Half of those surveyed in Albania consider violence between married couples a private matter, discouraging outside intervention, or believe that a woman should endure a certain level of violence to preserve her family. Nearly one in three partially blames women for the abuse they suffer or thinks they should feel ashamed or embarrassed to seek help outside their family.
These beliefs translate into alarming behaviors: 11.4% of men admit to using physical violence against their wives if they refuse sex, and 13.5% confess to beating their spouses in other situations. Such attitudes perpetuate cycles of abuse, making it harder for women to seek help and for communities to hold perpetrators socially accountable.
Social norms can either deter or legitimize such behaviors: if a society deems wife-beating unacceptable, men may avoid violence out of fear of social stigma; whereas if sexual coercion is normalized, they may feel entitled to abuse. In this way, social conventions shape the tolerance and handling of violence within communities.
A 28-Member European Union by 2030?
Despite significant challenges, Albania is emerging as one of the most credible candidates for the next EU enlargement, having taken an independent path from North Macedonia, which is struggling to progress. But why is Tirana so determined to pursue the European agenda?
The promise of peace, stability, and access to the world’s largest single market is undoubtedly attractive for any aspiring member state, even at the cost of partial sovereignty loss and the primacy of EU law over national legislation. EU accession inevitably requires ceding powers that were once exclusively under national jurisdiction—such as trade policy.
Furthermore, with the entry of new members, EU decision-making becomes increasingly complex, often requiring artificial compromises that dilute initial ambitions. The Council of the European Union makes key decisions by unanimity, meaning each member state has veto power, which can be used to block resolutions even when supported by the majority. Nevertheless, Albanians strongly support EU accession, hoping for better study and job opportunities and stronger human rights protections.
In conclusion, while Albania’s path toward European integration appears set, past enlargements have shown that bureaucratic hurdles or new international disputes could arise. Despite recent protests and allegations of power abuse, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has the chance to solidify his leadership by advancing the widely popular EU agenda—a crucial factor ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections.
By Alessandro Bertat
Mentor: Marzio Fait
Translated by Sofia Lima