TIRANA, October 23/ATA/-Europe will not strengthen its position in the international arena until one Member State is able to block any foreign policy decision, says member of the European Parliament, as well as the Chairman of the Delegation for Relations with the United States and as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, David McAllister in an interview with EURACTIV.pl.
The European Council summit concluded with a decision not to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania because of the veto of France, Denmark and the Netherlands. How do you perceive this situation?
A decided minority of Community countries are responsible for the decision. I am very critical of the final effect of the talks at the European Council summit and I think this is ‘a historic mistake’. This is not only an eloquent signal for North Macedonia and the Western Balkans in general, but also for undermining the credibility of the entire European Union. How much are our promises worth if we act this way?
North Macedonia has already come a long way, it even had to change the name of its country. To be honest, I don’t understand the Council’s decision. The political group to which I belong in the EP has ensured that all the heads of government of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the Council stand at the side of North Macedonia and Albania. We deeply regret that some governments were able to influence the final decision of the Council on this issue.
First of all, we are only talking about starting negotiations. Their termination would take many years, so just starting the negotiations talks with North Macedonia and Albania does not mean that these countries will become part of the European Union tomorrow.
Secondly, the French president in his argument emphasized that he was against accession talks because he believed that the EU should first review the enlargement process. I agree that there are things we can do better in this area. At the same time, however, I hope that the 27 EU leaders will be able to agree on this issue during the next presidency, when the Western Balkans summit is scheduled for May 2020. Perhaps then there will be a breakthrough in accession talks and a green light for North Macedonia and Albania.
This is about the attitude of the President of France to the enlargement policy, which I do not share. Mr. Macron, Mr. Rutte and others are responsible for this decision and should explain why they made it, he says. //a.i/
