Albania became only the second EU candidate country, after Montenegro, to obtain the Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR). This major step was taken on 26 May 2026, at the Eighth Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels. The successful IBAR confirms Albania’s fulfillment of the interim benchmarks for the crucial Cluster 1 (“Fundamentals”), officially transitioning the country into […] The post EU membership in sight for Albania, but ending negotiations by 2027 remains a challenge appeared first on European Western Balkans .