Accession of Albania to the European Union

Albania is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). It applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009, and has since June 2014 been an official candidate for accession. Accession talks started in March 2020.[4]

Albanian EU accession bid
Status
Candidate

Negotiating ✔️
Applied28 April 2009
Approved24 March 2020
AdmittedNo
Progress
Screening Progress
Chapter Progress
Ratification Progress
Statistics
EU averageAlbania
PPP GDP ($M)552,78029,092[1]
PPP per capita ($)40,60011,840[2]
Area (km2)165,04828,748
Population18,583,5983,195,000[3]
Albania
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Albania
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations

Albania is currently receiving €1.2bn of developmental aid until 2020 from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.

Brief overview

Officially recognised by the EU as a "potential candidate country" in 2000, Albania started negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in 2003. This was successfully agreed and signed on 12 June 2006, thus completing the first major step toward Albania's full membership in the EU. Albania applied for European Union membership on 28 April 2009.

Following in the steps of countries joining the EU in 2004, Albania has been extensively engaged with EU institutions, and joined NATO as a full member in 2009.

After Albania's application for EU membership, the Council of the European Union asked the European Commission on 16 November 2009 to prepare an assessment on the readiness of Albania to start accession negotiations.[5] On 16 December 2009, the European Commission submitted the Questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government. Albania returned answers to the Commission on 14 April 2010.[6] On 5 December 2013, an MEP meeting recommended to the council to grant Albania candidate status.[7]

On 23 June 2014, under the Greek EU Presidency, the Council of the European Union agreed to grant Albania candidate status, which was endorsed by the European Council a few days later.

The European Commission recommended that the EU open membership talks with Albania in its November 2016 assessment.[8] In June 2018 the European Council agreed on a pathway to starting accession talks with Albania by the end of 2019.[9][10]

Albania's EU accession is bundled with North Macedonia's EU accession. Albania is given certain pre-conditions for starting the accession negotiations, such as passing reforms in the justice system, a new electoral law, opening trials for corrupt judges and the respect of human rights for its Greek minority.[11][12]

In May 2019, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn reiterated this recommendation.[13] However, in June the EU General Affairs Council decided to postpone their decision on opening negotiations to October, due to objections from a number of countries including the Netherlands and France.[14] The decision was vetoed again in October.[15] On 25 March 2020, Council of the European Union decided to open accession negotiations, which was endorsed by the European Council the following day.[16][17]

Chronology of relations with the European Union
Timeline
Date Event
1992A Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Albania was signed, and Albania became eligible for funding under the EU Phare programme.
1997The EU Council of Ministers established political and economic conditionality for the development of bilateral relations between Albania and the EU.
1999The EU proposed the new Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) for five countries of Southeastern Europe, including Albania. Starting from 1999 Albania benefited from Autonomous Trade Preferences with the EU.
2000Duty-free access to EU market was granted for products from Albania.[18]
June 2000The European Council stated that all the SAP countries are "potential candidates" for EU membership.
November 2000At the Zagreb Summit, the SAP was officially endorsed by the EU and the Western Balkan countries (including Albania).
2001The first year of the new CARDS programme specifically designed for the SAP countries.
June 2001The Commission recommended the undertaking of negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Albania. The Göteborg European Council invited the commission to present draft negotiating directives for the negotiation of a SAA.
31 January 2003The directives for the negotiation of a SAA with Albania were adopted. Commission President Prodi officially launches the negotiations for a SAA between the EU and Albania.
June 2003At the Thessaloniki Summit, the SAP was confirmed as the EU policy for the Western Balkans and the EU perspective for these countries was confirmed (countries participating in the SAP started to be eligible for EU accession and would join the EU once they would become ready).
December 2005The council made the decision on the principles of a revised European Partnership for Albania.
12 June 2006The SAA was signed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg.[18]
9 November 2006The European Commission decided to start visa facilitation negotiations with Albania.
13 April 2007The visa facilitation agreement was signed in Zagreb. The signing EU Commissioner Franco Frattini was quoted saying that this is the first step toward a full abolishment of the visa requirements and the free movement of Albanian citizens in the EU.
1 January 2008The visa facilitation agreement entered into force.
7 March 2008EU Commissioner Franco Frattini while in Tirana opened the dialogue toward the liberalisation of the visa regime between Albania and EU.
1 April 2009The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) entered into force.
28 April 2009Albania formally applied for membership in the European Union.[18]
16 November 2009The Council of the EU asked the European Commission to prepare an assessment on Albania's readiness to start accession negotiations. The Commission submitted the questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government.[5]
14 April 2010Albania submitted answers to the European Commission's questionnaire,[6] but candidacy status was not granted by the EU in December 2010 due to a long-lasting political row in the country.[19]
27 May 2010The European Commission proposed visa free travel for Albania. The adopted proposal enabled citizens of Albania to travel to Schengen countries without needing a short term visa.[20]
8 November 2010The Council of the European Union approved visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for Albanian citizens.[21]
15 December 2010Visa-free access for Albanians to the Schengen area entered into force.
10 October 2012The European Commission recommended that Albania be granted EU candidate status, subject to the completion of key measures in certain areas.
August 2012The Albanian Parliament rejected a proposal to abolish immunity for parliament members, ministers and people in some other official positions. The EU required this to be abolished along with 11 other main issues, so candidate status was further delayed.[22] However, in September 2012 a constitutional amendment was unanimously passed which limited the immunity of parliamentarians.[23]
October 2012The European Commission evaluated the progress of Albania to comply with 12 key conditions to achieve official candidate status and start accession negotiations. The report concluded that if Albania managed to hold a fair and democratic parliamentary election in June 2013, and also implemented the remaining changes to comply with the eight key priorities still not fully met, then the Council of the European Union would recommended granting Albania official candidate status.[24][25]
23 June 2013Albania held a general election, generally regarded as free and fair.[26]
16 October 2013The European Commission released its annual reports on prospective member states which concluded that the Albanian election was held in an "orderly manner" and that progress had been made in meeting other conditions; as such it recommended granting Albania candidate status.[27]
5 December 2013In an MEP meeting it was recommended that "...the Council should acknowledge the progress made by Albania by granting it candidate status without undue delay."[7] However, several states, including Denmark and the Netherlands, remained opposed to granting Albania candidate status until it demonstrated that its recent progress could be sustained.[28] Consequently, the Council of the European Union, at its meeting in December 2013, agreed to postpone the decision on candidate status until June 2014.[29]
24 June 2014Under the Greek EU Presidency, the Council of the European Union agreed to grant Albania candidate status,[30][31] which was endorsed by the European Council a few days later.[32] This coincided with the 10th anniversary of the "Agenda 2014",[33] proposed by the Greek Government in 2004, as part of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, for boosting the integration of all the Western Balkan states into the European Union.[34]
March 2015At the fifth "High Level Dialogue meeting" between Albania and the EU, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement (Johannes Hahn) notified Albania that the setting of a start date for accession negotiations to begin still required the following two conditions to be met: 1) The government need to reopen political dialogue with the parliamentary opposition, 2) Albania must deliver quality reforms for all 5 earlier identified key areas not yet complied with (public administration, rule of law, corruption, organised crime, fundamental rights[35]).[36] This official stance, was fully supported by the European Parliament through its pass of a Resolution comment in April 2015,[37] which agreed with all conclusions drawn by the commission's latest 2014 Progress Report on Albania.[38] The Albanian Prime Minister outlined the next step of his government would be to submit a detailed progress report on the implementation of the 5 key reforms to the Commission in Autumn 2015, and then he expected the accession negotiations should start shortly afterwards - before the end of 2015.[36]
22 July 2016The Albanian parliament approved constitutional amendments on justice reforms.
9 November 2016The Commission recommended the launch of negotiations.[39]
26 November 2016Germany announced that it would veto the opening accession talks until 2018.[40]
Early 2017The European Parliament warned the government leaders that the parliamentary elections in June must be "free and fair" before negotiations could begin to admit the country into the Union. The MEPs also expressed concern about the country's "selective justice, corruption, the overall length of judicial proceedings and political interference in investigations and court cases" but the EU Press Release expressed some optimism: "It is important for Albania to maintain today's reform momentum and we must be ready to support it as much as possible in this process".[41]
December 2018Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated that respect of the rights of the Greek minority in Albania is a precondition for Albania's entry into the European Union.[42][11]
June 2019The European Commissioner Johannes Hahn recommended that the EU open membership talks with Albania.[13] On 1 June 2019, the Council set out the path to opening accession negotiations, with talks thought to begin shortly thereafter.
September 2019Germany's Bundestag set as its preconditions for Albania's EU accession negotiations the reforms in the justice system, continue the fight against drug trafficking, a new electoral law, creation of SPAK, functioning of the Constitutional Court & the Supreme court, appoint the new Prosecutor General, trials for the corrupt judges, and also drop some ambitions of Greater Albania.[43]
24 March 2020EU ministers reached a political agreement on opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.[44]

State of Stabilisation and Association Agreement ratification
Status of SAA ratification
Event North Macedonia [45] Croatia [46] Albania [47] Montenegro [48][Note 1] Bosnia and
Herzegovina [50]		 Serbia [51][Note 2] Kosovo* [52][Note 3]
SAA negotiations start 2000-04-05 2000-11-24 2003-01-31 2005-10-10 2005-11-25 2005-10-10 2013-10-28[54]
SAA initialled 2000-11-24 2001-05-14 2006-02-28 2007-03-15 2007-12-04 2007-11-07 2014-07-25[55]
SAA/IA signature 2001-04-09 2001-10-29 2006-06-12 2007-10-15 2008-06-16 2008-04-29 2015-10-27[56]
Interim Agreement:
EC ratification 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-06-12 2007-10-15 2008-06-16 2009-12-08 N/A [Note 4]
SAP state ratification 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-10-09 2007-11-14 2008-06-20 2008-09-22 N/A [Note 4]
entry into force 2001-06-01 2002-03-01 2006-12-01 2008-01-01 2008-07-01 2010-02-01 N/A [Note 4]
Deposit of the instrument of ratification:
SAP state 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-11-09 2007-11-13 2009-02-26 2008-09-22 2016-02-26
Austria 2002-09-06 2002-03-15 2008-05-21 2008-07-04 2009-09-04 2011-01-13 N/A
Belgium 2003-12-29 2003-12-17 2008-10-22 2010-03-29 2010-03-29 2012-03-20 N/A
Bulgaria entered the EU later 2008-05-30 2009-03-13 2010-08-12 N/A
Croatia entered the EU later N/A
Cyprus entered the EU later 2008-05-30 2008-11-20 2009-07-02 2010-11-26 N/A
Czech Republic entered the EU later 2008-05-07 2009-02-19 2009-07-23 2011-01-28 N/A
Denmark 2002-04-10 2002-05-08 2008-04-24 2008-06-25 2009-05-26 2011-03-04 N/A
Estonia entered the EU later 2007-10-17 2007-11-22 2008-09-11 2010-08-19 N/A
Finland 2004-01-06 2004-01-06 2007-11-29 2009-03-18 2009-04-07 2011-10-21 N/A
France 2003-06-04 2003-06-04 2009-02-12 2009-07-30 2011-02-10 2012-01-16 N/A
Germany 2002-06-20 2002-10-18 2009-02-19 2009-11-16 2009-08-14 2012-02-24 N/A
Greece 2003-08-27 2003-08-27 2009-02-26 2010-03-04 2010-09-20 2011-03-10 N/A
Hungary entered the EU later 2007-04-23 2008-05-14 2008-10-22 2010-11-16 N/A
Ireland 2002-05-06 2002-05-06 2007-06-11 2009-06-04 2009-06-04 2011-09-29 N/A
Italy 2003-10-30 2004-10-06 2008-01-07 2009-10-13 2010-09-08 2011-01-06 N/A
Latvia entered the EU later 2006-12-19 2008-10-17 2009-11-12 2011-05-30 N/A
Lithuania entered the EU later 2007-05-17 2009-03-04 2009-05-04 2013-06-26 N/A
Luxembourg 2003-07-28 2003-08-01 2007-07-04 2009-06-11 2010-12-22 2011-01-21 N/A
Malta entered the EU later 2008-04-21 2008-12-11 2010-01-07 2010-07-06 N/A
Netherlands 2002-09-09 2004-04-30 2007-12-10 2009-01-29 2009-09-30 2012-02-27 N/A
Poland entered the EU later 2007-04-14 2009-02-06 2010-04-07 2012-01-13 N/A
Portugal 2003-07-14 2003-07-14 2008-07-11 2008-09-23 2009-06-29 2011-03-04 N/A
Romania entered the EU later 2009-01-15 2010-01-08 2012-05-22 N/A
Slovakia entered the EU later 2007-07-20 2008-07-29 2009-03-17 2010-11-11 N/A
Slovenia entered the EU later 2007-01-18 2008-02-07 2009-03-10 2010-12-07 N/A
Spain 2002-10-04 2002-10-04 2007-05-03 2009-03-12 2010-06-15 2010-06-21 N/A
Sweden 2002-06-25 2003-03-27 2007-03-21 2009-03-11 2009-09-14 2011-04-15 N/A
United Kingdom 2002-12-17 2004-09-03 2007-10-16 2010-01-12 2010-04-20 2011-08-11 N/A
European Communities or
European Union and Euratom		 2004-02-25 2004-12-21 2009-02-26 2010-03-29 2015-04-30 2013-07-22 2016-02-24 [Note 5]
SAA entry into force 2004-04-01 2005-02-01 2009-04-01 2010-05-01 2015-06-01 2013-09-01 2016-04-01[60]
EU membership (SAA lapsed) (TBD) 2013-07-01 (TBD) (TBD) (TBD) (TBD) (TBD)

N/A: Not applicable.

  1. Montenegro started negotiations in November 2005 while a part of Serbia and Montenegro (SiM). Separate technical negotiations were conducted regarding issues of sub-state organizational competency. A mandate for direct negotiations with Montenegro was established in July 2006. Direct negotiations were initiated on 26 September 2006 and concluded on 1 December 2006.[49]
  2. Serbia started negotiations in November 2005 while part of SiM, with a modified mandate from July 2006.
  3. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 98 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition. The European Union remains divided on its policy towards Kosovo, with five EU member states not recognizing its independence. The EU launched a Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism for Kosovo on 6 November 2002 with the aim of aligning its policy with EU standards. On 10 October 2012 the European Commission found that there were no legal obstacles to Kosovo signing a SAA with the EU, as independence is not required for such an agreement.[53]
  4. No Interim Agreement associated with Kosovo's SAA was concluded.[57]
  5. Kosovo's SAA was the first signed after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which conferred a legal personality to the EU. As a result, unlike previous SAAs Kosovo's is exclusively between it and the EU and Euratom, and the member states are not parties independently.[54][58][59]

Border controls

On 1 January 2008 the visa facilitation and readmission agreements between Albania and the EU entered into force.[61] Albania received a road map from the EU for further visa liberalisation with Schengen countries in June 2008.[61]

Albania started issuing biometric passports on 24 May 2009, which were designed to comply with EU guidelines.[62][63] On 8 November 2010 the Council of the European Union approved visa-free travel to the EU for citizens of Albania.[21] The decision entered into force on 15 December 2010.[64]

In 2011, the EU paid €6 million to construct or refurbish border crossing points and border police stations to help Albania fight organised crime and illegal trafficking.[65]

Negotiation progress

The screening process is underway and no chapters have been opened thus far.

Screening and Chapter Dates
Progression35 / 35 0 / 35 0 / 35 0 / 35
Acquis chapterScreening StartedScreening CompletedChapter OpenedChapter Closed
1. Free Movement of Goods2019-01-17–––
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers2019-03-13–––
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services2018-12-11–––
4. Free Movement of Capital2019-01-10–––
5. Public Procurement2018-12-06–––
6. Company Law2019-10-21–––
7. Intellectual Property Law2019-02-07–––
8. Competition Policy2019-11-04–––
9. Financial Services2019-04-09–––
10. Information Society & Media2019-11-20–––
11. Agriculture & Rural Development2019-12-06–––
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy2019-02-18–––
13. Fisheries2019-06-12–––
14. Transport Policy2019-06-24–––
15. Energy2019-03-26–––
16. Taxation2019-06-03–––
17. Economic & Monetary Policy2019-01-10–––
18. Statistics2019-02-12–––
19. Social Policy & Employment2019-04-03–––
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy2019-01-29–––
21. Trans-European Networks2019-03-27–––
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments2019-02-05–––
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights2018-09-27––−
24. Justice, Freedom & Security2018-11-12–––
25. Science & Research2019-03-11–––
26. Education & Culture2019-03-12–––
27. Environment & Climate Change2019-05-13–––
28. Consumer & Health Protection2019-03-28–––
29. Customs Union2019-09-23–––
30. External Relations2019-09-25–––
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy2019-09-26–––
32. Financial Control2018-12-05–––
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions2019-09-27–––
34. Institutions––––
35. Other Issues––––
October 2020 European Commission Report
Acquis chapterStatus as of Oct 2020[66]Chapter Status
Overview3 chapters at early stage
8 chapters with some level of preparation
21 chapters with moderate preparation
1 chapter with good level of preparation
2 chapters with nothing to adopt		0 chapters opened
1. Free Movement of GoodsModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
2. Freedom of Movement For WorkersSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide ServicesModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
4. Free Movement of CapitalModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
5. Public ProcurementModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
6. Company LawModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
7. Intellectual Property LawModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
8. Competition PolicyModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
9. Financial ServicesModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
10. Information Society & MediaModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
11. Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary PolicySome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
13. FisheriesEarly stageChapter not yet opened
14. Transport PolicySome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
15. EnergyModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
16. TaxationModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
17. Economic & Monetary PolicyModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
18. StatisticsModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
19. Social Policy & EmploymentSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
20. Enterprise & Industrial PolicyModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
21. Trans-European NetworksSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural InstrumentsModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
23. Judiciary & Fundamental RightsModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
24. Justice, Freedom & SecurityModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
25. Science & ResearchEarly stageChapter not yet opened
26. Education & CultureModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
27. Environment & Climate ChangeSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
28. Consumer & Health ProtectionEarly stageChapter not yet opened
29. Customs UnionModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
30. External RelationsModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
31. Foreign, Security & Defence PolicyGood level of preparationChapter not yet opened
32. Financial ControlModerately preparedChapter not yet opened
33. Financial & Budgetary ProvisionsSome level of preparationChapter not yet opened
34. InstitutionsNothing to adoptChapter not yet opened
35. Other IssuesNothing to adoptChapter not yet opened
Negotiation History
Acquis chapterEC Assessment in 2015[67]EC Assessment in 2016[68]EC Assessment in 2018 EC Assessment in 2019[69]EC Assessment in 2020[70]
1. Free Movement of GoodsModerately preparedModerately preparedSome level of preparationModerately preparedModerately prepared
2. Freedom of Movement For WorkersEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide ServicesModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
4. Free Movement of CapitalModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
5. Public ProcurementSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationModerately prepared
6. Company LawModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
7. Intellectual Property LawSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationModerately preparedModerately prepared
8. Competition PolicyModerately preparedModerately preparedSome level of preparationModerately preparedModerately prepared
9. Financial ServicesModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
10. Information Society & MediaModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
11. Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary PolicySome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
13. FisheriesEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stage
14. Transport PolicySome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
15. EnergyModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
16. TaxationModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
17. Economic & Monetary PolicyModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
18. StatisticsSome level of preparationModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
19. Social Policy & EmploymentSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
20. Enterprise & Industrial PolicyModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
21. Trans-European NetworksSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural InstrumentsModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
23. Judiciary & Fundamental RightsSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationModerately prepared
24. Justice, Freedom & SecurityEarly stageSome level of preparationSome level of preparationModerately preparedModerately prepared
25. Science & ResearchEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stage
26. Education & CultureModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
27. Environment & Climate ChangeEarly stageSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
28. Consumer & Health ProtectionEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stageEarly stage
29. Customs UnionModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
30. External RelationsModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
31. Foreign, Security & Defence PolicyGood level of preparationGood level of preparationGood level of preparationGood level of preparationGood level of preparation
32. Financial ControlModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately preparedModerately prepared
33. Financial & Budgetary ProvisionsSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparationSome level of preparation
34. InstitutionsNothing to adoptNothing to adoptNothing to adoptNothing to adopt Nothing to adopt
35. Other IssuesNothing to adoptNothing to adoptNothing to adoptNothing to adopt Nothing to adopt
  totally incompatible
  early stage / very hard to adopt
  considerable efforts needed
  some level of preparation
  further efforts needed
  moderately prepared
  no major difficulties expected
  good level of preparation
  well prepared / well advanced

Impact of joining
Member countries Population Area (km2) GDP
(billion US$)		 GDP
per capita (US$)		 Languages
Albania 2,876,591 28,748 14.12 4,912 Albanian
EU27 446,824,564 4,233,262 17,267 33,998 24
EU27+1 449,701,155
(+0.65%)		 4,262,010
(+0.68%)		 17,281
(+0.08%)		 33,522
(−0.14%)		 25

See also

References
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