EU Opens Accession Talks with North Macedonia, Albania

EU Opens Accession Talks with North Macedonia, Albania (Photo: EU Opens Accession Talks with North Macedonia, Albania)

On July 19, the EU formally opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced.  

“What a historic moment,” she said, adding: “This is what your citizens have been waiting for so long – and this is what they deserve.” North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005, and Albania since 2014.   

Von der Leyen said that North Macedonia and Albania had shown enduring commitment to the EU values, resilience, maintained faith in the accession process, strengthened the rule of law and fight against corruption, and that they had free media and vibrant civil societies. In her address to the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, currently presiding over the EU Council, North Macedonia and Albania, von der Leyen said that the two countries had done countless reforms and had modernized their economies.   

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said that his country’s goal was to be ready for EU membership by the end of 2030. He stressed that the Skopje government was aware that the duration of accession talks would depend primarily on implementation of required reforms, but also on the EU’s ability to deepen its own capacity for integration of new members.  

Kovacevski stressed that Skopje had been devotedly working on overcoming challenges and improving relations with the neighbors through the implementation of the Prespa agreement with Greece and the Treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Bulgaria.