SAA came into force on 1 April 2009 following its ratification by 25 EU Member States which constituted the Community at the time the SAA was signed, and by the Albanian parliament. The ratification process was concluded in less than 3 years and was completed with the ratification by the Greek parliament on 15 January 2009. This opened the green light to Albania to submit the application for candidate country status.
Pending the ratification of the SAA, the SAA trade-related provisions became effective under an Interim Agreement which entered into force on 1 December with accelerated procedure.
Short SAA history until its entry into force:
- The full text of the Agreement was signed on 12 June 2006, in Luxembourg. It consisted of 135 Articles, 5 Annexes and 6 protocols of Stabilisation and Association Agreement. On the same occasion, an Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community and the Republic of Albania was signed. The general framework of the Stabilization and Association Agreement is based on four pillars: political dialogue and regional cooperation, trade provisions related to the progressive liberalization of exchanges until the establishment of a free trade area between the parties, community freedoms, and finally, cooperation in priority areas, especially in the area of justice and home affairs.
- Negotiation process for the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (January 2003-December 2005)
To ensure monitoring of SAA implementation, regular reporting meetings are organised under the framework of EU-Albania joint structures meetings, namely 7 Subcommittees.
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Stabilisation and Association Agreement
