Six EU member countries have responded to French proposals to overhaul the EU accession process, expressing qualified support for Paris’ position.
The letter follows the decision at last month’s European Council meeting not to allow Albania and North Macedonia to begin on the formal road to EU membership. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the rebuff as “an historic mistake.”
In a letter to Juncker dated Monday and seen by POLITICO, the six countries support reforming the existing procedure and setting down a deadline to avoid drawing out the process indefinitely. It is signed by the foreign and European affairs ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovak Republic, Italy and Slovenia.
France found itself at the centre of a contentious debate at the October European Council leaders’ summit, during which President Emmanuel Macron prevailed in his push to block a proposal to open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.
Via POLITICO
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