The Albanian Ministry of Justice announced earlier this week that EU negotiations had officially opened, commencing with the opening of chapter 23 on the judiciary and fundamental rights, but this was subsequently found to not be the case.
The ministry posted a photo of the negotiating group with EU representatives, adding the negotiation of basic chapters is coordinated by the Ministry of Justice. However, the negotiations for basic chapters have not yet started and it is not clear when they will.
Currently, Albania is in the screening phase which assesses existing legislation and policy to ensure it is in line with the EU acquis. It is expected to take around 14 months.
While the ministry did not reply to media on questions as to why they claimed chapter negotiations had started, experts noted that it is important not to confuse the use of terminology used.
Gjergji Vurmo, program director at the IDM, told BIRN that “screening is currently being done, not negotiations”. “The real negotiations begin at the second intergovernmental conference, after the screening of the chapters is completed,” he said
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