Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday after the third Albania-EU intergovernmental conference that they intend to close the negotiations by 2027.

He spoke at a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto - the country that holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Rama said that Albania "has done its homework".

According to him, Albania's membership in the EU should be completed within this decade.

"There is no doubt in our minds that a Europe with the Western Balkans will be stronger and more united and will be safer. Therefore, our ambition is not a secret and we want to make sure we have done our homework and that our negotiations are closed in 2027, and hopefully our EU membership is closed within this decade," said Rama.

Rama said that he hopes to make Albania the Europe of the Western Balkans.

"It is a gift for us who live in the middle of Europe, that we can see the future in the European Union, therefore we want to do as well as possible and I believe we all hope to make Albania the Europe of the Western Balkans, because we are well positioned to do this", said Rama.

The third Albania-European Union intergovernmental conference was held in Brussels, for the opening of Chapter VI of the negotiations.

Rama, who is leading the Albanian delegation, said on Tuesday that this is a very important step and according to him it is being done according to plan.

This conference comes before the EU-Western Balkans Summit that will be held on Wednesday.

After many years of waiting, on October 15, Albania opened the first chapter of negotiations for membership with the European Union.

Official Tirana was separated from the package with North Macedonia, where for a period of several years decisions were made for both countries simultaneously.