The interlocutors of EWB from Skopje are not surprised by the decision made last week by the EU to decouple the EU accession process of Albania from North Macedonia, as the dispute with Bulgaria remains unresolved. They believe that there is a risk of a prolonged period of limbo, during which there will be no negotiations with the EU. This might lead to a change in the foreign policy priorities of the current government.
Albania is set to open its first negotiating cluster on 15 October, multiple media outlets reported last week. Meanwhile, North Macedonia is not expected to make a step forward even though it started its accession talks at the same time as Albania in 2022. Last week, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper), consisting of the ambassadors of EU member states, discussed Albania’s fulfilment of opening benchmarks on Cluster 1: Fundamentals.
