Macro: If we humiliate Albania, region destabilises

My conviction is that, one, we must reform our membership procedures, they are no longer appropriate for purpose. They are not strategic, they are not political, they are too bureaucratic and unreturned, while you have to be able at some point to consider the issue of reconciliation. Second, if you worry about this region, the first issue is neither Macedonia nor Albania, it is Bosnia and Herzegovina... so has France's president, Emmanuel Makron, said in an interview for the prestigious magazine “The Economist”.

The Economist: Speaking about what your policy towards northern Macedonia and Albania has sparked much criticism from your partners. How do you explain your position?

But I told those who don't comply...

The Economist: But you said you wanted a strategic Europe in terms of its neighbourhood?

Em: But should we be the only ones to say: “the strategy is to integrate our neighbourhood”? This is a strange political proposal. In fact I will encourage you to consider the sustainability of an approach leading to the saying: “The heart of our foreign policy is enlargement”. This meant that Europe only thinks about its impact on access, especially on the only market. This is antagonistic to the idea of a powerful Europe. Is Europe like a market?

I tried to be consistent, I told them: We cannot make it work with 27 of us; 28 today, 27 tomorrow. Do you think it will work better if there are 30 or 32 of us? ” And they tell me: “If we start negotiations now, it will be in ten or 15 years. ” This is not honest with our citizens or with those countries. I told them: “Look at the banking union”. The crisis in 2008 with these major decisions; the end of banking in 2028. It takes 20 years for reform. So even if we open these negotiations right now, we still won't have reformed our union if we keep up with today's pace.

So according to me, we need: under one, a test of consistency. If we want a powerful Europe, it has to move faster and be more integrated. This is not in line with the opening of an enlargement process now. Two, those who tell you we need to expand are the same ones who say we have to keep the budget at 1%. This is the metaphor I used with toast another day. Some want to keep the piece of toast growing, but when it comes to adding more butter, they refuse. In the end, Europe becomes a market, but there is no more solidarity and no policy for the future. If we spend the same amount of money on something larger, there is no more convergence policy, there will be no political project in the long term, and there is no longer the ability to invest in the outside world. So then they tell you: it's the only way to prevent Russia, Turkey and China from being kings in these countries. But these influences continue, and they are growing, in countries that are already in negotiations, or sometimes even in those countries that are already members.

At least if we were to say: “we would make an effort, we would invest, we would tell our businesses to move at full speed ahead, we would spend on development, on culture, education”, it would make sense. Opening a simple bureaucratic process is absurd. I should add that most of them were in favour of opening to northern Macedonia, but nearly half of them opposed opening for Albania. Fatal mistake.

The Economist: Do you think they're hiding behind France?

Not only do I think, but I know it. Ask them tomorrow if they want to open the door to Albania. Half of them will say no. They want to open the door to northern Macedonia, it is small, it has changed its name, and this is a real historical achievement. You don't scare anybody. The reality is that if we don't open the door to Albania, we will cause a terrible trauma in the region. The Albanian community is everywhere. If you humiliate Albania, you will destabilise the region in a continuous manner.

So my conviction is that, one, we have to reform our membership procedures, they are no longer appropriate for purpose. They are not strategic, they are not political, they are too bureaucratic and unreturned, while you have to be able at some point to consider the issue of reconciliation. The second, if you worry about this region, the first issue is neither Macedonia nor Albania, it is Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tajmer bomb beating immediately near Croatia, and which faces the problem of the jihadists' return, is Bosnia and Herzegovina. The third is that we need to reform our membership procedures before opening negotiations. If we achieve this reform in the coming months, I will be willing to open negotiations. However, if they have made some additional additional efforts left over. But I don't want any further new members until we reform the European Union itself. In my opinion, this is a genuine and necessary prerequisite. (Koha.mk)