REVIEW - Cold Shower For Albania, North Macedonia As EU Delays Accession Talks

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) The European Union has delayed the decision on the accession talks of Albania and North Macedonia until October, keeping the Balkan nations at arm's length under pressure of some bloc's member states, while experts paint a grim future for the destabilized bloc, split by Brexit and migration issues, if it decides to accept new members.

"In light of the limited time available and the importance of the matter, the Council will revert to the issue with a view to reaching a clear and substantive decision as soon as possible and no later than October 2019," the EU Council replied on Tuesday to both Albania and North Macedonia. The bloc expects to raise the issue right before the new term of the new European Commission President who is due to start the mandate on November 1.

European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn explained that the union was not in favor of starting the negotiations with these two nations.

"We saw today a confirmation that the European Union, as a whole, backs the European perspective of the Western Balkans ... Nevertheless, in this light, it is unfortunate that minority of member states were not able to support the commission's clear proposal to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia already today," he told reporters.

In June 2018, the EU Council ruled that before accession talks Albania and North Macedonia needed to carry out reforms in crucial areas. Last month, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini positively assessed the countries' progress and recommended that the council open accession talks.

ADMISSION TO BLOC AMID DESTABILIZED EUROPE

The 28-member bloc, formed half a century ago, is not having its finest hour today. The never-solved Brexit problem, migration crisis and the gradual shift of political spectrum to Euroskepticism only add fuel to the fire. These all lead to suggestions that the union should solve its own problems before it decides to accept new members.

"We must consolidate the destabilized EU before the accession of the Western Balkans can take place. Before Commissioner Hahn and the EU think about its enlargement to North Macedonia and Albania, it would do well to consolidate institutionally. The state of the rule of law and democracy in the EU is deplorable. In the euro crisis and in the migration crisis, the EU broke its own rules and split and destabilized Europe," Jorg Meuthen, the Federal spokesman for the euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, told Sputnik.

According to the politician, the bloc must first think of the member states that could be tempted to follow the British exit.

"Against this background, it seems grotesque to even think about the admission of Macedonia, Albania and other Western Balkan states, as it threatens to import conflicts from the Balkans into the EU. In addition, all candidate countries are very poor; they would be net recipients of European funds, which would be above all at the expense of Germany. The consequence is predictable: a further division and destabilization of Europe. The AfD says NO," he added.

Filip Dewinter, a Belgian lawmaker from the Flemish right-wing Vlaams Belang party, believes that the situation in Europe is far from being idealistic.

"As you know, we are sovereigntists and believe that the EU is very sick. So now is not the time to try and integrate very poor nations that will cost huge sums to simply reach the basic European threshold," he said.

He drew an example of Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007. A decade later, the country remains the most corrupt EU nation, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

"Look at what happened to Bulgaria. There were 10 million Bulgarians in the country at the end of communism. There will be only 5 million soon. The young people have voted with their feet, often illegally and work, often in the informal sector in Western Europe. The EU is struggling to transform Bulgaria which is still riddled with corruption," Dewinter added.

While Albania and North Macedonia have much in common - both are relatively small nations in the Balkans and both have high aspirations for their EU membership - their chances of entering the bloc may differ.

North Macedonia managed to settle a decades-long dispute with Greece which vetoed all of the attempts by the landlocked country to join both the European Union and NATO. The nations have been at loggerheads since 1991 when Macedonia seceded from Yugoslavia and declared independence. Greece argued that its neighbor's name was stating a territorial claim to the Greek largest and second most populous region, which is also called Macedonia. In June 2018 Macedonia finally agreed to change its name to Northern Macedonia in order to end a decades-old row with its neighbor.

"For North Macedonia, enlargement could be considered in due time. They were very active in closing the route of illegal migration coming from Turkey through Greece and the Balkans. They understand the problem," Dewinter said.

Albania, known for its drugs mafia, corruption and organized crime throughout the European Union, has more obstacles on its ascension to joining the bloc.

"But Albania is a Muslim country, with 2.8 million inhabitants or more. We might already have to integrate Bosnia Herzegovina, which is now a nest of jihadists. We have made a mess in Kosovo in contravention with international laws. No, enlargement must stop and be indefinitely postponed, until we have reformed Europe," he stressed.

Kostadinka Kuneva from the Greek Syriza party also believes that North Macedonia has more chances to become an EU member.

"I am both Bulgarian and Greek, and I am deeply convinced that the agreement between Greece and North Macedonia offers a win-win-prospect and promotes peace, within the European Union tomorrow. Nationalist sentiments in the region have hampered economic development in the region for decades. It is time to forget our old conflict and work together in a united Europe," she said.

NOT ALL EU MEMBERS FAVOR BLOC'S ENLARGEMENT

In the meantime, not all EU members stand for the union's enlargement, especially from the Balkans. The Netherlands and France are not ready to give their blessing to the two countries and are expected to join the opposition. Germany also seems to scupper bid to schedule Albania's and North Macedonia's accession talks.

"Is reform of the EU needed before more enlargements? That is the question. But the challenges are above all internal to the member states, and political. The European Commission, says since last year already that these two Balkan countries are technically ready, but several states, such as the Netherlands, say that they are not politically ready," Fabian Willermain, a research fellow at the Egmont Institute of Brussels, told Sputnik.

While the fact that North Macedonia and Albania are a part of Europe can not be contested, some countries still just do not want to see them in the bloc, Quentin Michel, Professor in European Studies at Department of Political Science with the Belgian Liege University, said.

"The countries that have put the foot on the brake, like the Netherlands, or France, do not want more members now: no enlargement before reforms are made in the European Union," he said.

According to Michel, Europe can not honestly lead internal reform and enlargement at the same time.

"After the two last enlargements, we see that the machinery of a Europe at 28 or 27 has great difficulties to function since the EU tries to make it that a state is equal to another state, despite the differences in size or economic weight. With the present internal fracture [Brexit] and the ripples it created in the other member states, it is a dangerous game to enlarge at all cost," he concluded.

The Brexit talks remain stalled, with the political landscape of the United Kingdom being gradually shattered, In April, the EU leaders decided to give the United Kingdom a flexible Brexit extension until October 31, which means that London will be able to leave the bloc before the set deadline.