Edi Rama is the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania and Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania. Before entering politics, Edi Rama established himself as a painter, professor, writer and public intellectual. He has served as Prime Minister since 2013 and is currently serving his fourth consecutive term in office. His fourth government, sworn in in September 2025, continues to place European Union membership, economic development, institutional modernization, digital transformation and Albania’s Euro-Atlantic partnerships among its central priorities.

Albania is undergoing a period of significant institutional, economic and social transformation, with a strong focus on justice reform, public services modernisation, public administration, as well as citizen centric and social welfare reforms.

Albania obtained EU candidate status in 2014 and formally opened accession negotiations in 2022. Between mid-2022 and 2026, Albania made remarkable progress in its EU accession process. This includes opening all negotiation clusters at an unprecedented pace, achieving the positive evaluation of completion on interim benchmarks related to rule of law, and (provisionally) closing negotiations on four chapters of the acquis.

Albania aims to conclude accession negotiations by 2027 with the ultimate objective of becoming an EU member before 2030.