a few seconds agoMacShane: Will Brussels return its back to the Balkans?
Periskopi(7 years ago)
(7 years ago)Will the European Union respect the promise to Tirana and Skopje, or leave the Western Balkans for the first time to be “in its sauce”, Great Britain's former Balkan Minister Denis MacShane asks, adding that all eyes are focused on the EU foreign ministers' response. [...]
Will the European Union respect the promise to Tirana and Skopje, or leave the Western Balkans for the first time to be “in its sauce”, Great Britain's former Balkan Minister Denis MacShane asks, adding that all eyes are focused on the EU foreign ministers' response.
“Balkan again will be a key issue on the agenda,” he wrote for the Euroactive portal, ahead of today's meeting of EU foreign ministers.
He emphasises that the Prespa Agreement is a rare case of serious diplomatic advances by two new, left-oriented prime ministers, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, who decided to end the 30-year dispute over the name of Northern Macedonia.
As he said, Greece has agreed to support northern Macedonia's entry into NATO and the EU, and Greek diplomats peacefully support Albania's entry into the European Union.
“Like Poland and other Eastern European countries' entry into the EU helped improve their economy and create new jobs, we hope that the EU's effect on establishing standards in business and rule of law will be transferred to Albania and North Macedonia “, MacShane said.
