French President Emmanuel Macron refused on Friday to let North Macedonia start ...
BRUSSELS - French President Emmanuel Macron refused on Friday 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.
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. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the accession of Balkan countries was an important strategic issue, adding: “We’ll see how to get back to this debate later.”Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Warning of the risk of inflaming the region by failing to offer EU membership, the European Commission, the EU executive, wants other ex-Yugoslav republics and Kosovo brought into the EU fold to shield them from what they see as the growing influence of China and Russia.
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 organized crime. The challenges include Britain’s planned exit: China, which is seen as a “strategic rival”; security threats posed by Russia; and migration. Albanians still regularly seek refugee status in France despite being considered a safe country.
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