Donald Tusk (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
European leaders ended their meeting on Oct. 18 without reaching an agreement on whether or not to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, despite warnings that a negative response would damage EU reputation and endanger the Western Balkan region.
Both Skopje and Tirana were expecting a “green light” for the start of the accession negotiations, a process which lasts for years.
The European Commission, in charge of the negotiations, claims that both countries have fulfilled conditions for getting a start date for EU membership talks.
EU leaders have promised to reach an agreement by the end of October, but the Oct. 18 talks produced no positive results.
French President Emmanuel Macron is against EU receiving new members until the enlargement procedure is improved, while the the Netherlands opposes Albania’s candidacy and contests the EC’s opinion.
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