EU Council unbundles Albania and North Macedonia’s accession paths. Negotiating chapter opens for Tirana

Brussels – Tirana advances; Skopje, for the moment, does not. EU country ambassadors have unbundled the EU accession path of Albania and North Macedonia. The two Western Balkan countries have always walked hand in hand until now but have been at a standstill for too long because of friction between the new Macedonian government and Bulgaria. With this decision, the EU is forcing the impasse and preparing the ground for the Intergovernmental Conference with Albania, which could be held as early as the next few weeks.

Yesterday (Sept. 25), the diplomatic representatives of the 27 approved the letter in which the EU Council Presidency will communicate to the Albanian authorities the Council’s positive assessment of the achievement of the objectives set out in cluster 1, the key ones giving access to the negotiation process. The five “benchmarks” covered Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, Justice, Freedom and Security, Public Procurement, Statistics, and Financial Control.

Tirana thus shakes off its cumbersome partner in the accession process, which has kept it stalled since the summer of 2022. The European Commission, which has always maintained that it wants to keep the two capitals linked, has thrown up its hands in the face of the unbundling: “We hope that negotiations for the core cluster will start as soon as possible with Albania and, once the criteria agreed by the Council have been met, also for North Macedonia,” said spokeswoman Ana Pisonero. The necessary step for Skopje, which continues to be lacking, concerns some constitutional changes promised to Brussels. And especially in Sofia.

In July 2022, with the mediation of the French Presidency of the EU Council, Bulgaria and North Macedonia reached an agreement to resolve the issue of the Bulgarian minority on Macedonian territory. In essence, Skopje had promised to include the Bulgarian community in its Basic Charter along with those already protected. Thus, Sofia would lift its veto to advance the EU accession process. But the agreement has not yet been implemented, and the new government, an expression of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party that won elections last May, has already announced that it will renegotiate the so-called “French compromise,” effectively blocking not only Skopje but also Tirana.

However, Greece stepped aside to push forward Albania, an EU candidate country since 2014. Some tensions had flared related to the detention in Albania of Fredis Beleri, ethnic Greek mayor of the Albanian municipality of Himarë, who was sentenced to two years in prison for buying and selling votes in the May 2023 municipal elections but elected as an MEP in Greece in the June 9 European elections. Reportedly, several member states have expressed satisfaction with the advancement granted to Albania, hoping other Western Balkan countries—including North Macedonia—may soon move forward.

Now, Albania and the EU will have to define their respective negotiating positions ahead of the Intergovernmental Conference, which could be held as early as October.