Tuesday

6th Jun 2023

Macron warned on danger of Balkans veto

  • Macedonia's Zoran Zaev and EU's Johannes Hahn met in Brussels on eve of summit (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

France's veto on enlargement will endanger the Serbia-Kosovo peace process, a senior EU official has warned.

It could also prompt the fall of North Macedonia's pro-EU government, Macedonia's prime minister indicated.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Zaev still bears scar from 2017 assault (Photo: emagazin.mk)

But none of that is likely to change French president Emmanuel Macron's mind at the EU summit on Thursday (17 October), diplomats said.

"If all the efforts that North Macedonia has successfully made, if this is not properly rewarded, there is no incentive for Serbia and Kosovo ... to enter into a substantive dialogue about the future coexistence of the two countries, because the only reason to do this is the European perspective," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said in Brussels on Wednesday.

He spoke after France, one day earlier, vetoed the opening of accession talks with North Macedonia.

It did so citing the need for Skopje to enact a new law on a public prosecutor and for the EU to reform its accession protocols.

It also did so despite the fact North Macedonia had changed its name and its constitution to fall into line with EU and Greek demands.

That process had seen a backlash by Russia-backed nationalist forces in Macedonia.

A nationalist mob stormed the Macedonian parliament when the process began in 2017, with attackers beating up Zoran Zaev, who was, at the time, in opposition, but who later became its prime minister.

For his part, Zaev, who still bears a scar on his forehead and who met Hahn in the EU capital on Wednesday, also warned that the French veto could have dire consequences.

"If this decision is not reversed ... it will most certainly incite regressive forces in the country and strengthen third parties in the region," he said, referring to Russia.

"These third parties will definitely fill the vacuum [left by the EU]," he said.

Hahn and Zaev both looked to the EU summit on Thursday and Friday for a potential French U-turn.

The hope is that EU Council president Donald Tusk, a strong advocate of enlargement, and German chancellor Angela Merkel, whose diplomats also warned of potential Western Balkan instability on Tuesday, will press Macron to change his mind.

But there was no sign of German pressure on France when Merkel met Macron in the French city of Toulouse on Wednesday.

The two leaders spoke about climate change and joint aviation projects instead in their press briefing.

A German communique also mentioned Iran, Libya, the Sahel, Syria, and Ukraine as issues of common concern, but did not mention the Western Balkans at all.

And EU diplomats, who briefed press in Brussels on Wednesday, held out little hope that Thursday's EU summit, which is, in any case, to be dominated by Brexit, would prompt a French turnaround.

The fact there was a "clear desire" by most EU countries to go ahead on North Macedonia had made no impact on France on Tuesday, one senior EU diplomat told EUobserver.

"I doubt very much that we will have an impact that is any different [at the summit]", the diplomat added.

The French position was a "clear disappointment" to its EU partners, but Paris was "happy not to have anything" positive come out of the Western Balkans talks, a second EU diplomat said.

France had in the past talked big on the EU's need to become a geopolitical actor in the face of Russian revanchism and US retrenchment.

Macron also visited Belgrade in June and warned of "rising tension" in the region.

"We are seeing rising tension and sometimes these tensions are fuelled here and there by external powers [Russia] that have an interest in making sure no deal is found [between Kosovo and Serbia]", Macron said at the time.

But the EU diplomat linked his North Macedonia veto to sour grapes over Germany's role in disqualifying Macron's candidate for EU commissioner by the European Parliament last week.

The diplomat referred to the negative "dynamics" between Berlin and Paris in trying to understand what really lay behind the French decision.

"We didn't like the [French] hypocrisy which took place," at the Western Balkans talks on Tuesday, the diplomat said.

France keen to pause EU enlargement

France wants to pause EU enlargement pending major reforms, in what some fear could "destabilise" the Western Balkans.

France calls for EU-Russia reset

The time is right for the EU and Russia to mend ties, but sanctions should stay in place for now, France has said.

Opinion

UK, France should join German Saudi arms embargo

Rather than blame Germany, France and the UK should follow its lead and join other European states that have stood up for human rights, and help spare embattled Yemeni civilians.

EU fails to deliver on Albania and North Macedonia

Denmark, France and the Netherlands opposed opening talks on EU accession with Albania and North Macedonia in a blow that may invite greater Russian influence in the Balkan region.

Finland: EU 'not brain dead' on enlargement

EU countries have given a mixed reaction to French proposals on enlargement reform, but ongoing talks did not mean the process had stalled, Finland said.

Juncker: 'Historic mistake' against Balkan EU hopefuls

The president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker described a decision to block Albania and North Macedonia from advancing into the next phase to eventually join the European Union as a historic mistake.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law
  2. Top EU court rules Poland's court reforms 'infringe law'
  3. Sweden's far-right is most anti-Green Deal party in EU
  4. Strengthening recovery, resilience and democracy in regions, cities and villages
  5. Why Hungary cannot be permitted to hold EU presidency
  6. Subcontracting rules allow firms to bypass EU labour rights
  7. Asylum and SLAPP positions in focus This WEEK
  8. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us