The Netherlands is removed from “Negotia when conditions are met

Although Germany will be presented to the European Council in mid-October, with a proposal to get a conditional opening of negotiations for Tirana, the Dutch will again become a hurdle.

Top Channel reports that the Netherlands's change of position has been confirmed by Foreign Minister Stephen Block during the session at the Commission for European Affairs. During discussions with MPs, Block has stressed that his country's position would be similar to that held before the summer, when it was stressed there would be no negotiations for Albania without the June 2018 conditions met.

Block has stressed that Skopje and Tirana should be treated separately in this process.

Frames are back on the October agenda. I am happy to answer the questions that have been asked, but there will be no surprises, since attitude is the same as we discussed before the summer. I believe that Northern Macedonia and Albania should be deemed independently because there are two different countries with different problems and benefits. I showed earlier that the rate of progress in Macedonia is large than in Albania”, the minister has indicated.

According to Block, Albania is another case when compared to Macedonia.

I think Albania will be able to open negotiations as soon as it meets the criteria. But it's not yet the moment”, Block declared, reports Top Channel.

There has also been debate in the Commission as to whether the Netherlands will be alone in its blocking attitude towards Albania. Block has declared it belongs to each member state to give his opinion on enlargement.

The last “that the Council decided on was before one year and the Netherlands, France and Denmark, were the states that took that stand. It is up to countries to show their position”, the Dutch minister has said.

In June of this year, a motion was voted in the Netherlands Parliament urging the government to block the opening of negotiations on Albania's EU membership for 2019.

Minister Block himself would declare that Albania has not achieved tangible results in fighting corruption and organised crime, and that the European Commission's recommendation for opening membership negotiations is premature.

He added that Albania has failed to meet the criteria of fighting organised crime and corruption.