Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The European Commission adopted its 2010 enlargement package on 9 November, which included the Commission's 2010 Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports on Western Balkan countries. These reports will provide a basis for further discussion and conclusions at the December Council. Commissioner for Enlargement and External Relations Stefan Fuele emphasised the importance of the EU's enlargement policy and stressed the significance of credibility in the process, in terms of conditionality and the efforts of candidate counties.

Albania applied to join the EU in 2009. In its report, the Commission, although acknowledging good progress by Albania over the past 12 months, did not recommend that the Council grant the status of candidate country to Albania. Rather, it said that "negotiations for accession to the European Union should be opened once the country has achieved the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria, and in particular the Copenhagen political criteria requiring the stability of institutions guaranteeing notably democracy and the rule of law." The Copenhagen criteria, as they are known, are the conditions a country must meet before it can join the EU, and include the areas of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, economic policy and the general ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.