Door EU open to Albania, Macedonia

brussels - From our correspondent

It is the first time that the Commission says that Albania is ready to go for EU membership. For Macedonia, that happened already in 2005, but the negotiations were formally never started because Greece was at odds.

Negotiations are already under way with Serbia and Montenegro. The Commission wants to increase the speed so that the countries can join in 2025.

It is important for the EU to keep the countries of the western Balkans from the sphere of influence of Russia and Turkey. But at the same time, there are still many concerns among member states, including the Netherlands, whether the countries are really ready to join the Union.

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