EU Grants Albania Candidate Status

Albania has been granted an EU candidate status on Tuesday, during the meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.

"Albania congratulations on candidate status just agreed by ministers: acknowledgement of reform efforts, encouragement for more”, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele wrote on Twitter.

“The country still needs to meet key priorities, with particular focus on administration and judiciary reform, fight against corruption and organised crime and fundamental rights”, the commissioner added.

Tirana first applied for candidate status in 2008, but was rejected a number of times due to the high level of organized crime and slow reforms.

A survey of the Albanian Institute for International Studies, cited by BalkanInsight, shows that 77.1% of the country’s population is in favor of joining the European Union, which is 8% lower than the previous year.