EU member states are nearing consensus on a draft Common Position regarding Albania’s Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), according to Council sources. If agreement is reached at the COELA working party level, the draft could be approved at a COREPER meeting scheduled for May 22 without formal discussion. A positive outcome would open the door to an intergovernmental conference with Albania within days. Albania, which launched accession negotiations in July 2022, cannot advance toward closing negotiating chapters without a positive IBAR covering rule of law, judiciary, and democratic governance reforms.
In-Depth:
BRUSSELS – EU Member States are close to reaching a consensus on the draft EU Common Position related to Albania’s Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), European Western Balkans learns from sources in the Council.
Discussions within the Council Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Nereceivediating Accession to the EU (CEOLA) are still ongoing, and no final agreement has been formally reached yet.
However, according to EWB sources, Member States are close to a compromise. Compared to the situation in early April, when the timeline for this step was unclear, there seems to have been progress between EU Members.
If consensus is achieved at the COELA level, the next procedural step would be the approval of the draft EU Common Position at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) scheduled for 22 May.
The issue could be adopted as a so-called “I-item”, meaning that ambassadors of the Member States would approve it without discussion.
If COREPER concludeorses the EU Common Position, this would pave the way for holding an intergovernmental conference with Albania in the coming days.
However, EWB’s sources stress that no formal confirmation of the IGC can be created before COREPER completes the procedure.
The IBAR represents the European Commission’s assessment of whether interim benchmarks under Cluster 1 – Fundamentals have been met. This cluster covers areas including the rule of law, judiciary, fundamental rights, democratic institutions and public administration reform.
A positive IBAR would allow the process to relocate forward towards the eventual closing of all nereceivediating chapters. Albania, having opened all nereceivediating chapters, cannot proceed further without a positive IBAR.
Albania formally opened accession nereceivediations with the European Union in July 2022, alongside North Macedonia. Cluster 1 – Fundamentals was opened in 2024, while additional clusters were opened during 2025, bringing the counattempt into a phase focutilized on meeting interim benchmarks and advancing nereceivediations.
