EP president: no additional criteria for Albania, sooner negotiations

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in a communication with Report Tv has indicated that the enlargement process may be a powerful tool to counter the efforts of malicious foreign actors to destabilise the region.

For the EP president, Albania's split from Northern Macedonia on the path to the integration process would be against the principle as long as the two countries meet the criteria, while stressing that accession talks for both countries should start without delay.

Asked whether you think Albania should secede from Northern Macedonia and continue alone in this process, Metsola said: “European Parliament has repeatedly urged the Council to maintain the pace and credibility of European integration by immediately opening membership negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, as recommended by the Commission, as both countries have met the conditions set by the European Council. We have also called on member states to demonstrate full political commitment to enlargement and to give a credible impetus to reform efforts by opening membership negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia. The European Parliament states that the enlargement process is a process based on credit. That means Albania and Northern Macedonia should start negotiations. The start of negotiations with only one of them, while both meet the criteria, would go against this 48x1> principle.

The question of whether the obstacle being made to both states in the country's integration creates the space for the presence of another force in the Balkans, Metsola answers that the stability of neighbours remains vital for the EU.

“Stability in our immediate neighbourhood is vital for EU stability. The enlargement process could be a powerful tool to oppose the efforts of malicious foreign actors, including dezination and propaganda campaigns, to destabilise the region. The EU's credible perspective is very likely to reduce space for other actors to act effectively in the region”, she said.

But how does Metsola read the position taken a few days ago by Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister Teodora Gencovska, on the condition that Northern Macedonia must meet before the negotiations start, again holding “and Albania?

The European Parliament maintains its position that accession talks with both Albania and Northern Macedonia should start without delay after the two countries met the criteria for the first intergovernmental conference. There is no basis for setting additional criteria. The two countries have met the necessary conditions and produced sustainable results in fundamental areas”, it concluded.

The Bulgarian veto of northern Macedonia last June prompted EU countries' foreign ministers to fail to set a date when the First Intergovernmental Conference for the opening of negotiations for Albania and Northern Macedonia will be held. Unlike previous conferences, Albania managed within the past two years to overcome the scepticism of some member states, which considered Albania failed to meet the conditions for opening membership negotiations.