Brussels, 08/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is likely on Tuesday 9 November to deliver a negative opinion on Albania's accession request and to provide member states with a mixed recommendation on Montenegro's accession request. That, at any rate, is the position Enlargement Commission Stefan Füle intended to put to the college of commissioners which, on Tuesday, will adopt the 2010 annual reports on the applicant countries (Croatia, Turkey, Iceland and FYROM) and the potential applicants from the Balkans - Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo. The Commission will also present its opinions on Montenegro and Albania which submitted their applications to join the EU on 15 December 2008 and 28 April 2009 respectively.
According to information received, the opinion on Albania will indeed be negative, as we predicted at the end of October (see EUROPE 10245), largely on account of the total lack of political cooperation between the government and the opposition. For Montenegro, a country which has been singled out by the Commission for its serious corruption problems, Füle will propose a dual approach. He would like member states officially to grant it applicant country status, but without giving a positive opinion on the opening of negotiations. Will the college back Füle on this? It remains to be seen. The same twin-pronged approach was used for Turkey, which was made an applicant country in December 1999, with accession negotiations opening in October 2005, and, more recently, for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which was granted applicant status in December 2005 but is still awaiting a date for the opening of talks. The two decisions - granting of applicant country status and opening negotiations - have to be taken unanimously by the European Council. The Commission's opinion is no more than a recommendation to the member states. (H.B./transl.rt)