REVIEW - EU Foreign Ministers Agree On Launching Accession Talks With Albania, North Macedonia

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2020) The EU General Affairs Council on Tuesday held a teleconference during which the European foreign ministers agreed to launch membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia.

The European Union can now start talks on these countries joining the European bloc as the opposition by French President Emmanuel Macron or Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has given way to an agreement. Even Greece, which was complaining about the way Albania was treating its Greek minority, has accepted the negotiations.

The process will now carry on despite many populist voices in the European Parliament and the member states warning about the alleged danger of giving free rein to the Albanian mafias in "the European house."

The accession of the two Western Balkan countries hit a snag last year when both France and the Netherlands voiced doubts about their democratic track record.

However, president Macron did express willingness to change his mind if the European Commission would recommend engaging in accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, which it did.

"I have the great pleasure to inform you that we have reached a political decision to open accession negotiations on basis of the draft conclusions already proposed. In light of the impossibility to travel, the European Council (of the heads of state) was in a position to modify its rules of procedures, to allow us to launch the written procedure for formal acceptance of the political agreement of the Council. We also expect the council to endorse it in the course of this week," Croatian State Secretary ��Andreja Metelko-Zgombic said.

Her stance was echoed by Oliver Varhelyi, the neighbourhood and enlargement commissioner.

"We put back on track the issue of enlargement. Credibility has been delivered. Macedonia delivered on many fronts since the October meeting, also on its bilateral issues with Bulgaria, and the reform of the public prosecutor's office. As for Albania, today tangible results were presented in the fighting of organized crime, in judicial reforms and the refugee issues with European member states. What was impossible after October has been corrected and on the present basis, we can bring forward the issue of accession," he said.

Nevertheless, some European politicians are unhappy with this development.

"This is surreal! At the moment when the EU has become the vector of the worst pandemic for 100 years, which threatens to become a major economic crisis, the inefficient European machinery continues to function on its pet projects," Thierry Mariani, a member of the European Parliament from the right-wing National Rally party, told Sputnik.

He claimed Macron opposed the enlargement of the EU as a ploy to temporarily placate the right and to make sure the issue will nor impact the municipal elections.

"I am sorry, but enlargement of the EU is not the subject anymore. Citizens are expecting something else. The reservations about Albania were and are still very strong. The country is corrupt on a grand scale. Albania is also the first purveyor of refugee status requests in France for example. None of these candidates should receive the status of refugee. The country is not at war and is an accession candidate. It seems that the European Commission will take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to pass this enlargement without making any noise about it, by surprise," Mariani added.

The next step will be a summit in the Croatian capital of Zagreb between the EU and the leaders of the two countries scheduled to take place in late May.

Even though Europe is currently suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Brussels is willing to go ahead with the necessary procedures to demonstrate being able to accept new countries and the viability of the European project.