EU member states closer to consensus on Albania's IBAR

2026-05-19 19:58:00, Aktualitet CNA

EU member states are close to reaching a consensus on the draft EU Common Position on the IBAR report on Albania.

According to European Western Balkans, discussions within the Council's Working Group on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating EU Membership (CEOLA) are still ongoing and a final agreement has not yet been officially reached.

However, according to EWB sources, member states are close to a compromise. Compared to the situation at the beginning of April, when the timeline for this step was unclear, there appears to have been progress among EU members.

If consensus is reached at the COELA level, the next procedural step will be the adoption of the draft EU Common Position at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) scheduled for May 22.

The issue can be approved as a so-called “I point”, meaning that the ambassadors of the Member States will approve it without discussion.

If COREPER supports the EU Common Position, this would pave the way for an intergovernmental conference with Albania to be held in the coming days.

However, EWB sources emphasize that no formal confirmation of the IGC can be made before COREPER completes the procedure.

The IBAR represents the European Commission's assessment of whether the intermediate standards under Group 1 – Basics have been met.

This group covers areas including the rule of law, the judiciary, fundamental rights, democratic institutions and public administration reform.

A positive IBAR would allow the process to move forward towards the final closure of all negotiating chapters. Albania, having opened all negotiating chapters, cannot proceed further without a positive IBAR.

Albania officially opened accession negotiations with the European Union in July 2022, along with North Macedonia.

Group 1 - Basics opened in 2024, while other groups opened during 2025, entering the country into a phase focused on meeting intermediate standards and advancing negotiations./ CNA