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Southeast Europe
June 29, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 12
EU gives cautious green light for Albania and Macedonia to start accession talks in 2019
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
The European Council decided on June 26 to give a cautious green light for Macedonia and Albania to start accession talks, pending progress on reforms prior to the launch of negotiations next year.
The decision to open a path towards launching ac- cession talks in June 2019 was made by EU for- eign ministers in Luxembourg, even though some EU members, such as Denmark, France and the Netherlands, expressed concern over corruption and the rule of law in the two countries. EU En- largement Commissioner Johannes Hahn urged the bloc a day earlier to allow Skopje and Tirana to start membership talks, stressing the importance of giving a positive signal to the whole Western Bal- kan region.
Governments in the two countries expected to ob- tain a firm date to launch accession talks this year.
The Council underlined that critical for Macedonia is to continue making concrete progress on the Ur- gent Reform Priorities and to deliver further tangi- ble results in the fight against corruption.
For Macedonia, the Council underlined that the assessment of progress should include sustained results, focusing on judicial reforms, prosecutions and final convictions in corruption and organised crime cases, including high level ones, intelligence and security services reform as well as reform in the public administration.
The Council recalled that the decision to open accession negotiations with Macedonia will be
subject to completion of national parliamentary procedures and the endorsement by the European Council, and swiftly thereafter be followed by the first intergovernmental conference by the end of 2019, depending on progress made.
The Council strongly welcomed the signing of the name agreement with Greece and looks forward to its ratification and implementation.
On June 20, the Macedonian parliament ratified the name deal with Greece which sets a new name for the country — Republic of North Macedonia — and which was expected to unblock the Euro-Atlantic integration processes. Greece so far has blocked Macedonia’s entry to the EU and Nato due to the is- sue; Athens objected to the use of the name “Mac- edonia” as it has a region with the same name.
“Another great day for the Republic of Macedonia. Another great recognition for our country,” the government said in a statement following the an- nouncement.
For Albania, the European foreign ministers decided it is crucial to further consolidate progress made
on judicial reforms in particular through the vetting process, and to deliver tangible results in the fight against corruption and organised crime, in particu- lar on the cultivation and trafficking of drugs.
The decision is expected to be confirmed by EU leaders at the EU summit on June 28-29. Hahn said that the decision means that the screening process can start immediately.