French president Emmanuel Macron's enlargement veto is not a ploy for concessions in other areas, his diplomats and MEPs say.
His calls for prior EU reforms are short on detail and if Europe gets it wrong, it could destabilise its closest neighbours, experts warn.
But there might still be time to make big changes before a crunch meeting in Zagreb.
Macron caused shock at an EU summit in October by saying no to accession talks with North Macedonia despite the fact it had don...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.