EU Leaders Endorse Opening of Negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia

On Thursday, the EU leaders endorsed the decision to open EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.

The political decision was taken on Tuesday by the General Affairs Council, which comprises of Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs of the EU.

In a joint statement issued today, the Members of the European Council stated:

“We endorse the Council conclusions of 25 March 2020 on enlargement and stabilisation and association process.”

The European Commission is now expected to draft a negotiation framework for Albania and North Macedonia with specific guidelines for negotiations, which should start as soon as possible after the framework is approved.

Unlike North Macedonia, Albania will have to show progress in a number of areas before negotiations start in practice at the first intergovernmental conference.