Albania has officially entered the concluding phase of its EU accession negotiations after fulfilling the Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR) requirements under Cluster 1 “Fundamentals”, becoming only the second candidate country after Montenegro to reach this stage. Speaking at the latest Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos described the development as a “landmark achievement” and stressed that Albania had taken a major step forward through reforms related to rule of law, judiciary independence, anti-corruption measures, and fundamental rights protections. She also underlined that the most demanding phase of negotiations now begins, focused on closing benchmarks and further strengthening trust with EU Member States. Read more here.
Source: European Western Balkans