EC expects talks with Macedonia and Albania to start in March

[[MC]Ronin[MC]]

EC expects talks with Macedonia and Albania to start in March

European Parliament draft resolution recommends immediate start of negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania

 

 

 

 

The European Commission expects Northern Macedonia and Albania to begin EU accession talks before early May, EU Enlargement and Neighborhood Commissioner Oliver Varhey told the tribunal.

The European Parliament's draft resolution recommends that the Member States immediately begin negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania and acknowledge the negative effects of the postponement of the decision in October.

Deputies from the Committee on Foreign Affairs demand that it be clear that the new accession methodology leads to full membership of the European Union and adheres to clear and predictable criteria for damaging trust in the Union.

The European Parliament reminds that countries should be judged on their own merits.

The draft resolution explicitly seeks to "acknowledge the negative effects of the European Council's failure to open negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia in 2019 and to recognize that the opening of negotiations will restore confidence in the accession process".

MEPs believe talks with Skopje and Tirana should be started "immediately", which means the next EU summit in March.

Parliament supports the principle that the chapters on justice and the rule of law continue to be the first to be opened and the last to be closed.

According to diplomats in Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel is determined to get the green light from Member States to open accession negotiations for Northern Macedonia and Albania in March.

In the meantime, the Parliament of the Republic of Northern Macedonia has passed a law ratifying the North Atlantic Treaty by 114 votes in favor. However, the law will enter into force only after Spain ratifies the NATO's NATO Membership Protocol.