Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called on Tuesday May 3 for the openingimmediate» formal negotiations to integrate North Macedonia and Albania into the EU, as well as the «acceleration» ongoing talks with Serbia and Montenegro.
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While the EU consolidated its unity by supporting Ukraine in the face of the Russian offensive, “the full integration of countries with European aspirations does not represent a threat to the maintenance of the European project, it is part of its realization“, he said during a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Opening of negotiations in 2020
“Italy supports the immediate opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, in accordance with the decision taken by the European Council in March 2020“, he said. The governments of North Macedonia and Albania hope for the opening of accession negotiations in June or July.
In 2020, the Twenty-Seven had approved the opening of negotiations to integrate North Macedonia and, under conditions, Albania. Germany and the Netherlands had indeed imposed on Tirana demanding reforms to be carried out before the formal opening of the talks, in particular electoral and judicial reforms and the fight against corruption and organized crime.
Discussions in “progress” for Bulgaria
Regarding Macedonia, the blockage on the European path comes from Bulgaria because of disputes related to language and history. However, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said in late March that “progresshad been achieved in ongoing discussions since January. “We want to give new impetus to the negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro, and pay the utmost attention to the legitimate aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo“, also declared Mario Draghi on Tuesday.
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“By taking urgent and wise decisions, (Montenegro) can soon become a member of the EUsaid the new Montenegrin Prime Minister, Dritan Abazovic. “We are in favor of the entry of all these countries (into the EU), and we also want Ukraine in the European Union: we must follow the accession process that we have worked out, but we must also proceed as quickly as possible“, insisted Mario Draghi.
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At the beginning of March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called for the integration “without delayfrom his country to the EU. “We will take our responsibilities“, replied the President of the European Council Charles Michel. But there is no accelerated integration procedure. Being admitted to the EU requires in particular to bring the legislation of the candidate country closer to European law, a long and difficult process.
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