The EU Council has determined that Albania has met the closing benchmarks for Chapter 30 (External relations) of its accession negotiations, provisionally closing the chapter and requiring no further negotiations at this stage, according to a Council document dated 10 July 2026. The decision, set to be formally adopted at the Council meeting on 14 July 2026, means Albania accepts the EU acquis under Chapter 30 as in force on 1 May 2026 and commits to implementing it by accession. The closure imposes a series of concrete obligations on Albania, including terminating all bilateral agreements with third countries incompatible with EU membership, denouncing all its free trade agreements, and applying the EU external tariff and trade liberalisation in services from the date of accession. Albania must also apply EU export credit rules and ensure effective enforcement of EU trade defence measures upon accession.
On multilateral export control regimes, the document notes that Albania submitted a formal application to join the Wassenaar Arrangement in June 2025 and is confirmed as a unilateral adherent to the Australia Group as of June 2025. It is invited to ensure early accession to the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Albania is not party to the Kimberley Process but will automatically become party from the date of EU accession. The EU will continue monitoring Albania's alignment, implementation, and administrative capacity throughout the remainder of the negotiations. The closure of Chapter 30 marks a significant step in Albania's accession process, but the country must complete all treaty terminations and join key export control regimes before membership can be finalised.