Status: 04.10.2021 11:45 p.m.
The EU should soon hold accession talks with Albania, North Macedonia and other countries in the Western Balkans. Federal Foreign Minister Maas calls for this before the EU summit on Tuesday. Germany will support the accession process.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has called on the EU to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The EU summit, which begins on Tuesday evening in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, “must send out the clear message that accession is an achievable goal for the Western Balkans,” said Maas after a meeting with his North Macedonian colleague Bujar Osmani in Berlin.
“Consensus in the Bundestag”
There was a “strong consensus among the political parties in the German Bundestag about our continued support for the prospect of the Western Balkans joining the EU,” stressed Maas. “We will continue our commitment beyond the current phase of political transition.”
According to the Foreign Office, Osmani described it as a “privilege to have Germany by our side”. The support of partners like Germany is necessary “above all to overcome the differences with Bulgaria, to resolve blockades in the process, but also to restore the European credibility in the region and thus counteract the EU skepticism”.
Enlargement process on hold
Chancellor Angela Merkel is also expected at the summit of EU heads of state and government in Slovenia. The summit begins with an informal working lunch in a renaissance castle in Brdo pri Kranju. According to EU diplomats, it should be about the situation in Afghanistan and the relationship with the USA and China.
On Wednesday, the EU leaders will meet with the heads of state and government of Albania, North Macedonia and four other Balkan countries. It is about the possible enlargement of the EU. The process has been on hold for years due to reservations by various Member States.