According to several European sources, discussions in Luxembourg between the European affairs ministers on Tuesday 26 June are likely to be complicated.
Several subjects are causing division among the member states – the first of these being the opening of EU accession negotiations with Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
On Albania, France and the Netherlands oppose the opening of EU accession negotiations. On 21 June, the Dutch parliament voted against the opening of negotiations with Tirana, considering its progress still not sufficient (see EUROPE 12046). The Dutch parliament thus urges the government not to vote in favour of the European Commission's proposal. Albania's Foreign Affairs Minister Ditmir Bushati, will have a final opportunity to convince his counterparts on Monday 25 June, at an informal breakfast of the 'Friends of Albania', in Luxembourg, ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council (see other article).
Elsewhere, although an agreement has been reached on the name issue between FYROM and Greece, the opening of EU accession negotiations for Skopje is not guaranteed either. France's President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly said that it is important to reform Europe before enlarging it, and Paris seems to be sticking to this line. Athens meanwhile wants the 17 June agreement with FYROM, according to which "upon receiving the notice of the ratification of this agreement by the Parliament of the 2nd party, the 1st party should promptly notify the president of the Council of the EU that it supports the opening of the EU accession negotiation of the 2nd party". Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has nevertheless warned that if Skopje fails in its constitutional review, the negotiations with the EU will not progress. The Macedonian parliament ratified the agreement on 20 June.
Another subject causing division among the EU member states is Turkey. In December 2016, Austria stated its opposition to the adoption of conclusions because it wanted to see the term "freeze of accession negotiations" for Turkey (see EUROPE 11688), which was rejected by the other member states. An Austrian source stated that his country could not accept "an identical, or nearly identical, text to in 2016" and that his country is expected remain firm on the issue at the Council.
The same problem still seems to arise this year, even if a European diplomat said that the objective was "to reconfirm Turkey as an EU accession candidate". The diplomat said on several occasions that the objective of the Council meeting was "to adopt conclusions" and thus to have an agreement on Turkey from all 28 EU member states. A member state source said that negotiations were still ongoing on the text "to satisfy Austria".
While the positions between member states differ, the chances of finding compromises are few because, due to a tight timetable and a heavy European agenda, it is complicated to set the ambassadors' (Coreper) working sessions to discuss these questions, according to a European source. Another source said that the decision could be sent to the heads of state and government, who are meeting on 28 and 29 June. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)