- Title: EU leaders bitter after France resisted Balkan countries' membership talks
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL BUILDING
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 09:30
- Keywords: European Union leaders EU summit enlargement Albania North Macedonia
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1MK9QF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron refused on Friday (October 18) to let North Macedonia start talks on joining the European Union and led a group of leaders who blocked opening talks with Albania, despite concerns over Chinese and Russian influence in the Balkans.
North Macedonia, Albania and four other Balkan countries - Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia - are trying to join the 28-nation political and trading group following the ethnic wars of the 1990s that led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
But though member states see their eventual membership as inevitable, debate on starting the years-long accession process became emotional at an EU summit in Brussels and lasted into the early hours of Friday, an EU diplomat said.
Macron said the membership bids of Albania and North Macedonia could not progress until the EU changes how and when candidates are vetted on meeting accession targets which range from economic policy to human rights and the rule of law.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said it was "an historic error".
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the accession of Balkan countries was an important strategic issue, adding: "we'll see how we can revisit this debate."
All countries except France backed opening membership talks with North Macedonia, which is judged to have met EU targets for a host of reforms and ending disputes with its neighbours.
But France won support from Denmark and the Netherlands in its resistance to giving Albania's bid the green light, citing a need to deep measures to tackle corruption and organised crime.
(Production Jorrit Donner-Wittkopf, Elena Gyldenkerne) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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