Albania and North Macedonia are not yet granted permission to start negotiations on joining the European Union. This is the outcome of consultations between EU ministers in Luxembourg. In particular, France and the Netherlands are blocking the talks.
France believes that the EU must first reform and reorganize itself before it can expand. The Netherlands thinks Albania still insufficiently combats crime and does not yet have a proper legal system.
According to most other EU member states, the time is indeed ripe to convert the current pre-accession phase (which has been ongoing for several years) into actual accession agreements. According to the European Commission and EU President Tusk, the two Balkan countries have done everything expected of them.
The European Union currently has 28 member states. Before a new country can become a member or accession negotiations can begin, all current member states must agree. The choice is now left to the EU government leaders, Thursday and Friday, at their summit in Brussels.
France believes the EU must first reform the accession process. The Netherlands thinks much still needs to be done, especially in Albania. A proposal to allow only North Macedonia to proceed faces opposition from several countries. They did not want to treat the issues separately.
France and the Netherlands are cautious because the EU in the past has often expanded too quickly with too many countries. But supporters say: if you don’t allow Albania and North Macedonia to start talks now, these countries may become susceptible to Chinese or Russian influence.
It can take ten years or more before accession negotiations lead to EU membership. Negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro have been difficult for years. Those with Turkey are on ice. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo remain potential candidate member states.