Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs is travelling to two countries to promote their eventual membership of the EU.
Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne will visit Albania and Montenegro this week to promote the EU enlargement agenda, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
The Fianna Fáil Minister said the trip was intended to show Ireland’s support for Albania and Montenegro’s accession bids, and to “encourage” their governments to continue pursuing integration reforms.
“I will take the opportunity to commend Albania and Montenegro for their significant efforts to implement the necessary reforms to align with EU standards,” he said.
“I will encourage the Albanian government and Montenegrin government to maintain their EU integration efforts in the period ahead, so that we can work together to deliver real progress on their EU candidacies, during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU next year.”
He argued that the war in Ukraine had highlighted the importance of expanding the European Union’s influence.
“The illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has demonstrated the importance of EU enlargement, as a geostrategic investment in a peaceful, secure and prosperous Europe,” Byrne said.
“Ireland has benefited enormously from over half a century of EU membership, and during my visit, I will convey Ireland’s strong support for a merit-based enlargement of the EU.”
The visit is scheduled to take place from July 21st to 25th and comes less than a year before Ireland assumes the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026.
While in Albania, Byrne will meet with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Igli Hasani, Deputy Minister Endrit Yzeiraj, and Agriculture Minister Anila Denaj.
In Montenegro, he will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister Filip Ivanovic, Minister for European Affairs Maida Gorčević, and Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović.
The Government has also previously advocated for Ukraine to become an EU member state.
The visit follows a shift in tone by the Irish Government regarding other potential candidate states, particularly Georgia.
Speaking to Gript last week, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said Georgia’s leadership had “moved much further away” from EU values and accession criteria in recent months.
“So the government’s position is that any country that wants to join the European Union has to do so by meeting the criteria,” Harris said at the time.
“And what’s very clear to me is that Georgia has moved much further away from that criteria.”
His comments came after 17 EU governments, including Ireland, signed a joint statement criticising Georgia’s crackdown on opposition leaders and the press.
The statement accused Georgia of undergoing a “rapid transformation towards an authoritarian system” and warned of possible sanctions if the situation did not improve.
The European Union has also threatened to suspend Georgia’s visa-free travel arrangement unless the government reverses course. Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed that a letter had been sent outlining the conditions for maintaining the agreement.
Transparency International recently described Georgia’s internal situation as “the most severe democratic collapse in Georgia’s post-Soviet history.”
Ireland has been a long-time supporter of Georgia’s EU aspirations, with numerous officials, including former Tánaiste Micheál Martin and the chairs of both the Dáil and Seanad, publicly backing Georgia’s candidacy as recently as last year.