Albania and North Macedonia to begin EU accession talks

Bulgaria had until recently blocked membership bids over linguistic and historical disputes

EU flags fly outside the Berlaymont building. Bloomberg

The 27 member countries of the EU agreed on Monday to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, after Skopje resolved a long dispute with its EU neighbour, Bulgaria.

The Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, tweeted that the member states "just agreed to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia".

"We have taken another important step towards bringing the Western Balkans closer to the EU," Mr Fiala said after the move was approved in a meeting of EU envoys in Brussels.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and North Macedonian leader Dimitar Kovacevski were expected in Brussels on Tuesday to formally start the accession talks that will take years.

North Macedonia and Bulgaria on Sunday signed a French proposal that would make Macedonian an official language in the EU, and provide other guarantees.

Bulgaria had until recently blocked any progress for accession talks because of a dispute between the countries over a long list of linguistic and historical issues.

The dispute also stalled Albania's bid to become a member of the 27-nation bloc, due to a long-held policy that the ambitions of both countries to join the EU be treated together.

A Georgian flag and an EU flag are held out during a rally of tens of thousands in support of Georgia's candidacy for EU membership, in Tbilisi on June 24. The day before, EU leaders deferred Georgia's candidacy, demanding widespread political reforms. AFP

Under the pressure of France, which held the EU presidency until July 1, last month the Bulgarian Parliament agreed to lift its veto in exchange for guarantees from the bloc that North Macedonia will meet certain demands on contentious issues.

North Macedonia was designated as a candidate for EU membership nearly 20 years ago. It has already worked through major differences with Greece in order to join Nato in March 2020.

Albania was awarded candidate status by the EU in 2014.

The strategic importance of the Western Balkans to the EU has increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with fears over Moscow's influence in the region.