European Commission President Against Macroni About Albania, Northern Macedonia

According to Politico, von der Leenen said the opening of an EU membership path for Albania and Northern Macedonia has <x0 strategic balances” for the bloc.

Her statement came after a meeting held with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Von der Leyen, who is expected to launch the mandate on December 1st, said Skopje and Tirana have made extraordinary efforts to meet the requirements the EU has had for them, and added that it will seek alternative ways to strengthen ties with the two countries.

“As long as it is not possible to open membership talks, I will use all my energy to develop joint projects that will increasingly connect these countries with the bloc through close co-operation”, has declared von der Leyen.

If we don't do this, others will use this vacuum and we don't want this to happen”, it added, follows the tch.

The launch of the new European Commission chief's mandate has been delayed following the three commissioner candidates' refusal. A day earlier, the one that blocked the green light for Albania and Northern Macedonia, French President Emmanuel Macron, highlighted once again for the “The Economist”, that the European Union needs to reform membership procedures once more before opening negotiations with the two countries.