Albania/June 2014
On 24 June 2014, the European Union has officially named Albania as a candidate country for EU membership. This is subject to the support by EU heads of states at the European Council to be held on 27 June 2014 in Brussels.
This is a significant highlight for Albania and EU- Albania relations and the first step for a long process of reformation which needs to be implemented by the country to meet up key priorities such as judiciary, corruption and crime and fundamental rights.
Albania is a member of more than 48 different international organizations including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization.
Albania has firstly applied for EU membership in 2009 among with other 8 nations that are candidates/ potential candidates to join the EU. Croatia was the last country to join the EU in July 2013 and Serbia began membership negotiations in January 2014.