von der Leyen defies Macron on the West Balkans accession talks
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Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s incoming president, has come out in support for accession talks with West Balkan countries, in a move defying French president Emmanuel Macron’s fierce opposition to enlarging the bloc.
Speaking in Berlin on Friday, Ms von der Leyen said Europe had “asked a lot of North Macedonia and Albania, [and] they’ve fulfilled it all”. “Now we must be true to our word and start accession talks,” she added.
The former German defence minister, whose nomination for the commission was pushed by Mr Macron, said it was in the EU’s interest to offer the West Balkans a European perspective. If it failed to do so, “others will fill the gap — China, or Russia, Turkey or Saudi Arabia,” she warned. She also offered strong words of support for Nato, which Mr Macron described as suffering “brain death” in an interview this week. “I think that despite all the bumps in the road, Nato has proven itself to be a wonderful shield of freedom,” said Ms von der Leyen.
“The history of Europe can’t be told without Nato.” Mr Macron was the only EU leader to block accession talks for North Macedonia last month at an EU summit. He also rallied a small group of states including the Netherlands and Denmark to oppose Albania negotiating to join the bloc.
