Albania’s EU accession path will be decoupled from North Macedonia’s, with the first clusters of negotiation set to be formally opened on 15 October, according to a unanimous decision of Ambassadors of European Union member states on Wednesday (25 September), a spokesperson told Euractiv.
The two Western Balkan countries’ path to EU membership was coupled with the start of negotiations formally launched in the summer of 2022. However, due to disputes between Skopje and Bulgaria, the actual opening of chapters has been held up with no end in sight, directly impacting Tirana’s progress.
Albanian PM: EU outdated and needs to be changed
Prime Minister Edi Rama has once again poked fun at Brussels and the EU accession process, this time during an interview in Amsterdam.
The Albanian prime minister has been very vocal in his displeasure with the accession process, the “impotence” of …
But now, the next step is set to be taken by Albania in mid-October in the framework of the intergovernmental conference and the opening of “Cluster 1 – Fundamentals”.
This cluster includes several chapters – Procurement, Statistics, Judiciary and Fundamental rights, Justice, Freedom and Security and Financial control.
This is good news for Albania in its efforts to meet the requirements for advancing on its EU path, but it is a setback for North Macedonia, which once again fails to take a decisive step towards EU accession.
Albanian prime minister could seek decoupling from North Macedonia in EU bid
Albania could seek decoupling from North Macedonia and push for solo EU membership, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Albania’s bid to join the bloc has been linked to its neighbour, North Macedonia. While both countries have, on paper, satisfied requirements, …
Following years of frustration, Bulgaria and North Macedonia agreed under the French EU presidency in July 2022, to amend its constitution and include the Bulgarian minority alongside the other minorities currently mentioned as “the Turkish people, the Vlach people, the Serbian people, the Romany people, the Bosniak people and others”.
This would see Sofia lift its veto and Skopje’s talks progress. However, the agreement has not been implemented due to a lack of political will and consensus in North Macedonia, meaning both countries have seen their accession process stalled.
Currently, 100,000 Macedonian citizens have acquired Bulgarian citizenship, meaning that they have proven their Bulgarian roots.
Since the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party won the elections last May, the new government of Hristijan Mickoski has made it clear that it wants to renegotiate the so-called “French compromise.”
As expected, the EU rejected this position and warned that the next step would be decoupling North Macedonia from Albania and giving the chance to Tirana to advance.
After the May elections, North Macedonia confronted both its Greek and Bulgarian EU neighbours. First, the new President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, defied Greece by not using the constitutional name “North Macedonia” during her inauguration speech.
North Macedonia added “North” to its name in 2018 to end a long-running dispute with Greece, following the historic Prespa agreement.
More recently, the government of Mickoski picked a fight with Sofia under the pretext that the Bulgarian President’s protocol didn’t fly the North Macedonia flag during a recent visit of Siljanovska-Davkova in Sofia.
In fact, the visit was unofficial, as Siljanovska-Davkova came to attend an opera show, and there is no protocol requirement to fly the flag on such occasion.
The episode, however, is poisoning relations, and the Bulgarian president hinted that the scandal was staged by powerful forces who do not wish North Macedonia to become part of the EU.
Albania sceptical of EU chief's enlargement push
As European Council Chief Charles Michel called for a new deadline for enlargement of the European Union, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he appreciated the gesture, but It could need a lot longer than that.
Source: euractiv.com
