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BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) Albania will sign an agreement with the European Union next week representing a key first step towards eventual membership of the bloc, an EU official said today.

The Stabilisation and Association Agreement will be signed by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha at a ceremony during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.

''This is a very significant step in Albania's progress towards the European Union,'' an EU official told a briefing.

''This agreement will carry important benefits for the citizens of Albania; it will allow an expansion of trade with the European Union and attract more investment.'' The document legally defines the relationship between Albania and the European Union as Tirana works towards membership and is a first step on the ladder to EU membership, which is not expected for Albania before 2015.

''It implies rights and obligations for Albania,'' the EU official said.

''What we expect following the signature from Albania is to carry on vigorously with the reforms because the next step is of course the implementation of that agreement, which is extremely important,'' the official said.

As part of the conditions for eventual Albanian membership, the European Union wants to see further progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime, improved media freedoms and steps to resolve property disputes, the official said.

Albania has received about 1 billion euros ($1.26 billion) in EU aid since it toppled communism in 1990, but has been urged repeatedly to step up its fight against graft and criminality.

REUTERS SHR RS2017