EU dream fading in Western Balkans, a local's view

It might be a trauma, but no one can claim Bulgaria's recent veto on North Macedonia's EU accession talks came as a shock.

It was seen coming from, at least, late August by EU states' diplomats who meet in the relevant EU Council working group, the committee on enlargement (Coela), in Brussels.

But Germany, the outgoing EU presidency, showed little sense of urgency.

Berlin behaved as if its mighty chancellor, Angela Merkel, would get a last-minute deal, the way she did, for...