North Macedonia is likely to win European Union support to start membership talk...
BRUSSELS - North Macedonia is likely to win European Union support to start membership talks later this year, diplomats say, but its Balkan neighbor Albania faces opposition in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Backed by a number of EU governments and the European Commission, Albania and North Macedonia had hoped that the bloc’s Europe ministers would give the go-ahead to membership talks at a meeting next Tuesday in Luxembourg.But neither country will be given the green light then, diplomats and EU officials told Reuters, even though 13 EU countries including Italy and Poland, the European Council’s President Donald Tusk and the Commission have publicly called for formal negotiations to begin.
The name change from Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia has given Skopje momentum and is likely to persuade Paris, Berlin and The Hague to back EU talks. Four other Western Balkan nations - Bosnia, Kosovo and the two frontrunners Serbia and Montenegro - are also seeking EU membership.In June 2018, France and the Netherlands unexpectedly blocked the start of EU talks for Albania and North Macedonia, seeking more reforms. Diplomats said the move reflected concerns about the impact on voters in EU elections in May, 2019.
EU membership talks, which typically last up to a decade, are a de facto reform process to bring nations up to EU levels.
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