The issue of the EU’s expansion has been reignited by the war in the Ukraine. The country, lead by president Volodymyr Zelensky, has been vocal about joining the bloc since the Russian invasion nearly two years ago.
But it’s another country which is reportedly on track to becoming a fully fledged member of the bloc – with Albania hitting the headlines for being on its way to passing the bar required to become an EU member.
To be accepted the candidate countries must meet several economic criteria which includes demonstrating macroeconomic stability, high-quality economic governance, a proper labour market and sufficient infrastructure, reports euronews.business.
Despite the shock of a major earthquake in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Albania’s economy had a strong recovery in 2021 and into 2022.
Inflation in the country is an issue – as it is in other countries across Europe – but GDP (gross domestic product) growth for this year is forecast at 3.3 percent. Gross domestic product is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period by a country, with an ideal GDP growth rate being between 2 percent and 3 percent.
Albania is also investing heavily in its construction and tourism industries in a bid to boost economic growth, with the country’s railway network being completely overhauled with help from the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for the Western Balkans.
The EIP is also being used to develop renewable energy projects and digital infrastructure.
Bashkim Kasoruhu, the head of Albanian Railways, Project Implementation Unit, said these infrastructure projects will have a transformative impact on the country.
He said: “Connectivity is the most important aspect. You can imagine the impact of connecting these biggest ports. The port [Durres], [Tirana] airport and Tirana city centre where we have the public transport terminal will gather all the infrastructure in one hub.”
The new rail link between Durres and Tirana – which are Albania’s two biggest cities – will cut the 40-minute road trip in half to around 20 minutes.
The country is also making huge strides in promoting its tourism offer with visitors attracted by its warm climate, affordability and beautiful scenery.
Around 8.3 million tourists visited Albania between January and September last year compared to 7.5 million tourists it had in 2022.
The southern Albanian towns of Berat and Gjirokastra are rated highly by visitors as they are jam packed with beautiful historic architecture as well as being famous for their castles and bazaars.
Butrint on Albania’s western coast is also a Unesco World Heritage shit. Here you can head to ancient amphitheatres, bastions and forts.
The Albanian Riviera is also a tourism hotspot and is renowned for its white sandy beaches and olive groves.
Over the past few years, a number of European countries have been given candidate status to potentially join the EU next.
Express.co.uk readers were asked which country should be next in line to be accepted into the EU with the results showing large support for Ukraine’s bid for entry.
The results in full are:
Ukraine – 32 percent
Don’t know – 15 percent
Türkiye – 14 percent
Albania – 11 percent
Montenegro – nine percent
Moldova – six percent
Bosnia and Herzegovina – six percent
Serbia – four percent
Georgia – three percent.
