In 1981, two years after the first direct elections to the European Parliament were held, the legislature inaugurated a "Delegation for relations with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".This delegation had a series of successors, each refocused and renamed in response to political changes in the region: the original delegation became the "Delegation for relations with the republics of former Yugoslavia", before being re-baptised the "Delegation for South-East Europe" in 1994.
Separate relations, new structure (1992-2014)
In 1992, MEPs began holding separate inter-parliamentary meetings with Albania. Between July 1992 and March 2009, 16 such meetings were convened.
These meetings were "informal" - which is to say that there was no structured forum, such as a Parliamentary Committee, to determine how often or where the participants would meet.
Once the EU and Albania signed a "Stabilisation and Association Agreement", this would change. The agreement, which entered into force in 2009, specified:
"A Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee is hereby established. It shall be a forum for Members of the Parliament of Albania and of the European Parliament to meet and exchange views. It shall meet at intervals that it shall itself determine."
A dedicated delegation (2014-present)
After the European Parliament elections of 2014, a separate Delegation to the Committee was formed.
Since then, the Delegation to the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee has met its Albanian counterpart once or twice every year.
These sessions have produced joint recommendations with the Albanian parliament, treating themes including:
Chairs overseeing relations with Albania