Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, confirmed it on Thursday 8 May in Warsaw, at the informal Gymnich-style meeting of ministers (see other news): Albania will soon open cluster 3 of the Fundamental Acquis, relating to competitiveness and growth.
Although no date has yet been set, a European source stated that the Member States largely – and “very clearly” – gave their agreement at the meeting of the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper II) on Wednesday, 7 May.
Tirana officially opened the second cluster less than a month ago, on 14 April (see EUROPE 13621/4).
The country, at this stage the most advanced of the candidate countries for European integration, has opened its fourth cluster since last year. The repeated announcements of its leader, Edi Rama, who aims to see Albania conclude accession negotiations by 2027, could well come true, if such a pace is maintained.
The Polish Presidency of the EU Council is committed to pushing forward discussions as far as possible with a view to convening a new Intergovernmental Conference between now and July and the handover of the Presidency of the Council of the EU to Denmark. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)