Commission urges EU member talks for Skopje, Tirana 'now'

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

May 29, 2019 2:15 PM

The European Commission on Wednesday urged the EU to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia immediately, saying they had delivered on reforms demanded by Brussels.

Diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn called for the 28 EU states to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia immediately

The two Balkan states aspire to join the European Union but their accession bids have stalled as public opinion and politicians in the bloc -- especially France and the Netherlands -- have grown cold at the prospect of bringing in new members.

Tirana in particular is growing impatient, with Prime Minister Edi Rama warning in an AFP interview last month that the delay was hurting the Balkans and could reignite simmering tensions in the region.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini pressed the 28 member states not to wait any longer, saying there was a risk of sowing "disillusion".

Last year the 28 EU member states agreed to start accession talks for both countries but only in June this year, and only if they met certain conditions, particularly improvements in the fight against crime and corruption.

Reporting on the progress made, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said Albania and North Macedonia had taken major steps, and the European Council -- the member states -- must respond.

"Both countries have delivered on reforms, in particular in areas set by the council unanimously in June 2018. On that basis the commission recommends the council opens accession negotiations now with both Albania and North Macedonia," he told the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament.

"To remain credible the EU must stick to its commitments and respond clearly and positively when countries fulfil theirs."

Rama was quick to welcome the commission's recommendation, saying it showed Albania had "successfully completed its homework".

Danger of disillusion

The decision on whether to launch formal talks rests with the member states, though any timetable is unclear. They may discuss it at a summit in Brussels next month or wait until a meeting of European affairs ministers in July.

North Macedonia expects a reward after a difficult diplomatic compromise that involved changing its name to settle a dispute with Greece -- a deal that also opened the way for Skopje to join NATO.

"Not rewarding historic achievements and substantial reforms would undermine stability and discourage seriously further reforms and would introduce an element of disillusion, especially among the young population that is so supportive of the European Union prospect," Mogherini warned.

Montenegro and Serbia are the frontrunners to join the EU from the Balkans, having already started the formal membership process, but Hahn said they needed to "urgently" step up their efforts to improve the rule of law if they wanted to progress.

But some EU states point to problems with corruption and the rule of law in Bulgaria and Romania, which were admitted in 2007, as a warning against being too hasty in letting new members join the club.

France, one of the bloc's two main powerhouses, has been particularly vocal in its reluctance, with President Emmanuel Macron insisting there must be "a deepening and improvement" of the existing union before any more enlargement.

In a nod to these concerns, Hahn stressed that opening talks "doesn't mean we conclude tomorrow or the day after", noting that most recent new member Croatia took eight years to complete the process.

Pulse News Agency International by AFP