Foreign ministers from 13 Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia) called for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia in a joint statement issued on Tuesday 11 June.
Thus, "recalling (their) conclusions of the General Affairs Council of June 2018, which paved the way for the opening of accession negotiations in June 2019" for these two countries, Ministers call on the members of the Council of the EU "to take bold and farsighted decisions in June", to "implement the relevant recommendations of the European Commission" and, therefore, to "support decision-making on the opening of negotiations with the Republic of Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia in June 2019".
In their view, opening negotiations would make it possible to "maintain and consolidate the positive momentum" of European integration in the countries of the Western Balkans.
For their part, these countries say they are "determined to assume our responsibilities and react positively to the progress made by both countries", both in terms of reforms and agreements with their neighbours for Skopje.
"The launch of the negotiation process will allow these two countries to focus even more on the necessary reforms, while the EU will obtain a valuable tool for scrutinizing their individual progress", justifies the statement, published ahead of the meeting of EU ambassadors which will discuss the issue of enlargement, and the Council meeting of 18 June which is due to decide on this issue. According to the Ministers, the launch of the negotiations will be an important new motivating factor for the whole Western Balkans region. It will also contribute to "strengthening countries' resilience to external, detrimental interests of other players and ensure that the EU continues to be the leading player for a positive regional transformation", they add.
More generally, these thirteen countries recall their continued support for the Western Balkans on the European path. "The EU must respect its unambiguous commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans. There is no ‘plan B’", they warn.
Several countries, including France and the Netherlands, are opposed to the opening of accession negotiations with Tirana and Skopje. For its part, the German Bundestag has postponed its decision to open negotiations until the autumn, which could prevent a decision from being taken in June.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/2Ia1dSN (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)