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EU launches pre-accession probe for Albania and Macedonia
By EUobserver
The EU began screening the readiness of Macedonia and Albania to start negotiations by next June on joining the bloc. EU ministers last month decided to wait a year for the official launch of membership talks because France and the Netherlands wanted more reforms. EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn in Skopje told reporters the screening would allow the EU to measure the countries' preparedness in alignment with EU rules.