The Member States' Ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) will again discuss the negotiating frameworks for the accession of Albania and North Macedonia to the EU on Wednesday 28 October.
These discussions are going to be difficult. Concerning North Macedonia, Bulgaria has reservations due to a bilateral question on Macedonian history and language (see EUROPE 12570/15). Asked for further details, the Bulgarian Permanent Representation had not yet sent its position at the time of going to press.
On Albania, four or five Member States have reservations, according to one source. While Tirana has made progress, it is not enough to have an intergovernmental conference at this stage, another European source said.
According to documents dated 27 October obtained by EUROPE, the German EU Council Presidency is expected to present two proposals for the EU's general position to Coreper on Wednesday for the first Intergovernmental Conference with each of the countries.
“This is without prejudice to any decision on a date for the first Intergovernmental Conference”, the documents stress.
However, the national ambassadors could discuss the possibility of a first conference in December for Skopje. But Tirana still has criteria to meet before the first conference can be organised.
The German Presidency's proposal on Albania does state that the Council of the EU “will monitor closely the continuation of the progress which has been achieved prior to the first intergovernmental conference concerning the key priorities, outlined in the March 2020 Council conclusions. Once the EU Council is satisfied, on the basis of an assessment by the Commission, that the opening benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster have been met, the EU Council will decide on the opening of the fundamentals clusters” for accession negotiations, the document goes on to say.
This ‘fundamental clusters’ component is the first to be opened in the context of EU accession negotiations.
According to one source, Wednesday's discussion will not be conclusive and a new debate will be held on 4 November between Member States' ambassadors. The aim is to make progress in the discussions ahead of the General Affairs Council on 10 November, which may address the issue.
At the beginning of the German EU Council Presidency, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had hoped that the first intergovernmental conferences could be held before the end of the year (see EUROPE 12519/18). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)