Albania has closed four of 33 chapters with the EU, North Macedonia still waits on the first cluster
On October 14 Albania provisionally closed the chapter on enterprise and industrial policy, and Kos says talks could conclude next year.
On October 14, at the second intergovernmental conference with the EU under the Irish presidency, Albania provisionally closed Chapter 20, Enterprise and Industrial Policy. It is the fourth closed chapter. Earlier, in July 2026, Chapters 25 (Science and Research), 26 (Education and Culture) and 30 (External Relations) were closed.
According to reports, all 33 screened chapters are open, so by calculation 29 remain unclosed. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the closure brings Albania closer to its ambition of concluding the talks “next year”, that is, in 2027. Prime Minister Edi Rama sets a goal of at least twice as many closed chapters by the end of 2026. Ireland's representative Thomas Byrne told Albania to “stay the course on core reforms”.
It is important to know what “provisionally closed” means. Agreements on individual chapters are not final until there is an overall agreement covering all chapters. Closing a chapter is therefore a step, not a guarantee of EU entry.
What is the difference with North Macedonia? North Macedonia has been a candidate since 2005 but has not opened even the first cluster, on fundamentals. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Skopje on October 2 that “the last step is missing”. North Macedonia, according to Mickoski, holds that the negotiating framework requires Bulgarians to be written into the Macedonian constitution before the second intergovernmental conference can open. That condition is why the two countries, though on a similar road, are at different points.
So “comparing the paths” is only partly accurate. Albania is using an open path, while North Macedonia is blocked at a prior step. That does not mean Albania has no problems: in the last two weeks there have been unrest and protests there, about which the European Commission said the response must be proportionate.
How quickly can Albania finish? Four of 33 chapters are closed, and the rest takes time, reforms and unanimity of member states. The goal for 2027 is a political ambition of the commissioner and the prime minister, not an agreed date.
What is not known? It is not known which chapters come next and when, or whether Rama will meet the goal of at least twice as many closed chapters by the end of the year. It is also unclear whether the protests in Albania will affect the pace. For North Macedonia, it is not known when there will be a new political agreement with Bulgaria.
What does it mean? A neighbor is closing chapters while we are still waiting for the first cluster to open. The difference is not in knowledge but in the fact that the Macedonian problem is political and constitutional, while the Albanian one is technical and reform-based.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 21, 2026
