Albania and EU CFSP: Strengthening Integration: DOI: http://dx.doi.org.10.18847/1.20.6

Abstract

Albania, an EU candidate country since 2014, is often described as already a member of Europe, only missing the ‘U’ of Union, owing not only to its geographic position, but also to its deep-rooted European sentiment. Albania’s foreign policy is, in no small degree, testimony to this. The article at hand examines Albania’s alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Specifically, it assesses the degree of Albania's alignment with EU CFSP and its implications for the country’s EU integration process, particularly in the context of the evolving geopolitical landscape. The analysis draws on Albania’s efforts regarding regional and international cooperation, international restrictive measures alignment, hybrid threats and Foreign Information Manipulation Interference (FIMI), and the latest 2024 European Commission Communication on EU enlargement policy. These efforts bear high significance for Albania’s EU integration process and underscore the increasing importance of CFSP alignment in the current geopolitical landscape. Albania’s case also offers critical insights into broader dynamics of EU enlargement and confirms that effective CFSP implementation is characterized by a varying degree of flexibility and autonomy.