The 27 Member States of the European Union have agreed to start accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. They did so the day after North Macedonia agreed to a compromise in the dispute with neighboring Bulgaria.
The parliament in Skopje gave the green light to the framework for the negotiations with the EU. That framework also includes a compromise for the conflict with neighboring Bulgaria. The North Macedonians commit themselves to recognize the Bulgarian minority in their country in the constitution and to take other measures to protect the rights of minorities. The lack of compromise was one of the last obstacles to starting accession negotiations.
“We have taken another important step to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala tweeted after a meeting on the subject in Brussels. The Czech Republic currently holds the presidency of the EU. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his North Macedonian counterpart Dimitar Kovacevski are expected in Brussels on Tuesday. Then the negotiations, which will take years, will formally start.
Bulgarian veto
North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005 and has been waiting for the start of negotiations since 2008. For years, Greece blocked any overtures until the small neighboring country agreed in 2018 to change its name from Macedonia to North Macedonia. After the Greek veto, however, came a Bulgarian, which also wanted to negotiate concessions in terms of language, history and the protection of minorities.
The Bulgarian protest also blocked the candidacy of Albania, which has been a candidate since 2014. In the end, under pressure from France, the previous EU president, Bulgaria decided to let go of its veto in exchange for some concessions.
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