The European Commission has completed the draft negotiating frameworks for Albania and North Macedonia, and presented them to the Council of the European Union.
The documents lay out the guidelines and principles for the countries’ EU accession talks.
The draft frameworks are divided into three parts: 1) principles governing the accession negotiations, 2) substance of the negotiations, and 3) negotiations procedure.
The revised methodology has brought a stronger focus on fundamental reforms like the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration, and the economy of the two countries.
It has also made the EU accession process reversible, in case of negative consequences of reforms or absence of progress.
The negotiating framework has to be adopted by each Member State, and then the Presidency of the Council of the European Union will present the agreed General EU Position in the first inter-governmental conference with each country. This will mark the formal start of the accession negotiations, and the publication of the frameworks.
Unlike North Macedonia, Albania is expected to meet certain conditions before the first inter-governmental conference.
