The European Commission has officially presented its “Pre-Enlargement Policy Reviews,” setting out a framework for institutional and governance reforms, as well as safeguards, that will accompany the European Union’s next wave of enlargement.
The strategic document comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent visit to Tirana and further highlights Albania’s position among the countries making the most progress in the enlargement process.
The document confirms that the EU’s internal reforms and the progress of candidate countries will move forward in parallel, with a specific roadmap for Albania’s accession expected to be included in the EU’s 2026 Enlargement Package.
The comprehensive review concludes that the EU’s existing policies do not require a complete structural overhaul to accommodate new members.
The EU is pursuing an approach known as “Integration by Design,” incorporating potential enlargement scenarios into the development of future policies and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034 from the outset.
The approach is intended to preserve the Union’s ability to act effectively while strengthening the role of enlargement in European security and stability.
The document focuses on three key areas of reform.
First is a review of the Article 7 mechanism, which addresses serious breaches of the rule of law. Instead of the current four-fifths threshold for suspending a member state’s voting rights in the Council, the European Commission proposes a “reverse qualified majority voting” (Reverse QMV) mechanism. Under this system, a Commission decision to impose sanctions would take effect automatically unless member states form the required majority to block it. The aim is to make the protection of European values more effective and the mechanism easier to enforce.
Second, the Commission proposes stronger financial safeguards. New EU funding could be frozen or restricted in cases where a member or candidate country fails to meet its commitments or breaches rule-of-law principles.
Third, the document sets out rules concerning the rights of future members. Countries joining the EU would enjoy the same rights as the current 27 member states, including the right to have a European Commissioner and to participate fully in decision-making, including veto rights where applicable.
New members could, however, voluntarily commit not to use their veto on issues related to bilateral disputes arising in the context of enlargement, helping prevent such disputes from blocking the accession process.
The new framework also supports a “Gradual Integration” model based on merit, allowing Albania and other candidate countries to gain progressive access to key EU sectors and programmes before full membership.
This could include accelerated integration in areas such as cybersecurity, military mobility, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), and trans-European energy networks, bringing tangible economic and infrastructure benefits before full accession.
The European Commission’s review describes strategic support for enlargement as an investment whose benefits outweigh the costs for EU citizens. It argues that bringing countries that have advanced furthest in the accession process, including Montenegro and Albania, closer to the Union would contribute to greater security and stability through the expansion of the European market and the European area.
The policy review represents a significant political signal of EU support for Albania’s progress toward its strategic “Albania 2030” objective.
Reforms and national consensus remain essential to the country’s path toward EU membership.
Albania says it remains fully committed to continuing its efforts with the same determination to meet all the required criteria and achieve the historic goal of full European Union membership within this decade.