'Albania and Macedonia ready for EU talk'

strasbourg - It is time to negotiate accession to the European Union with Albania and Macedonia. The European Commission makes this recommendation to the 28 EU countries. Both candidate countries have made sufficient progress, according to Brussels, but there is still a long way to go, including in the area of ​​anti-corruption and crime prevention.

Brussels has been flirting with the six countries in the Western Balkans that want to become EU members. Commission President Juncker traveled past the six capitals last spring with the message that they have a prospect of joining but must first resolve their mutual conflicts. He said Tuesday that the EU should open up to new member states from the Balkans to avoid a new war in the region.

Negotiations with Serbia (2012) and Montenegro (2014) have been ongoing for some years. Brussels has mentioned 2025 as an 'indicative' target year for accession, but diplomats do not consider that realistic. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo remain potential candidates for the time being

EU Heads of Government meet in Sofia at the end of May for a summit on the Western Balkans. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok, there can not be marched with the accession criteria. Candidate countries first have to show great progress, according to the minister. 'The Netherlands is very strict in this. '

The French president Macron also expressed his reservations on Wednesday that the EU should first get its affairs in order internally before countries recover.

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