Albania and North Macedonia have to wait for the hoped-for accession talks with the European Union: at the EU summit in Brussels, France launched the front of its opponents, thus preventing the necessary unanimity. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker accused the Heads of State and Government of a "serious historical mistake". The Balkan countries reacted disappointed.
The European Commission had already certified to Albania and Northern Macedonia in 2018 that it had implemented all necessary reforms. Member States have now postponed for the third time their decision to launch accession negotiations. Resolutions in this area must be taken unanimously. (Read more about the backgrounds here.)
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU states "unfortunately did not reach an agreement". This will cause "of course disappointment" in the two Balkan countries. According to her words, before the planned summit with the Western Balkan countries under the Croatian presidency in May 2020, the EU states "want to come back to the subject again". This could theoretically be done at the EU summits in December or March.
Macron: Albania sends "a great many asylum seekers"
He could not explain to his citizens accession talks with a country "that sends a great many asylum seekers," said French President Emmanuel Macron, referring to Albania. He insisted that the EU should first fundamentally reform its accession process before starting discussions with other countries. At the summit, the Netherlands and Denmark also expressed concerns about the admission of Albania.
The EU also wants to counteract Russia's and China's growing influence in the region with a fresh start on enlargement in the Western Balkans. "The EU has not delivered because of internal issues," criticized Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn on Twitter. The credibility of the EU is now not only damaged in the Balkans.
Similar to Juncker, EU Council President Donald Tusk spoke of a "mistake". Future Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Northern Macedonia and Albania had "done extraordinary things" to move closer to the EU. "In that sense, it is important for us to develop a common perspective with them."
"The least that the European Union owes us is sincerity"
The North-Macedonian government was sobered by the continued blockade: "The least that the European Union owes us is sincerity," Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov wrote in the short message service Twitter.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev pointed out that, as demanded by the EU, his country had settled the name dispute with Greece and changed its constitution in order to facilitate accession negotiations. He warned in June about a government crisis and the emergence of anti-European forces in northern Macedonia.
North Macedonia is bordered to the north by Greece. Athens had blocked the country's entry into the EU and blocked NATO for almost 30 years, as it was formerly called a Greek region "Macedonia". This February, after years of negotiations, the country officially renamed itself.
Croatia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the EU Council of Ministers in the first half of 2020, wants to give new impetus to the enlargement debate, as one diplomat in Brussels said. The summit in Zagreb in May next year should focus on this topic, it was said.