EU ministers’ conclusions on enlargement to the Western Balkans have been blocked and are unlikely to be adopted as planned at tomorrow’s EU Council meeting, regional media reports.
EU diplomats don’t expect progress by the end of Germany’s EU presidency, whereas EU leaders on Thursday and Friday in Brussels “won’t have time to deal with the enlargement” because the agenda is “already full.”
Germany’s EU presidency is frustrated that it was not possible to make progress on the negotiating framework with North Macedonia. We did everything we could, including facilitating a compromise between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. We’re not pleased that Bulgaria is blocking the accession negotiations due to bilateral issues with North Macedonia. Because of this, member states believe that progress can neither be made with Albania, a top EU official said ahead of the EU ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
