UPDATE 2 - EU starts accession talks with Albania, North Macedonia

UPDATE 2 - EU starts accession talks with Albania, North Macedonia

EU Commission chief praises countries for successful reforms that paved way for accession talks

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY OFFICIALS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Agnes Szucs and Talha Ozturk

BRUSSELS/BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – The European Union kicked off Tuesday accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the “historic moment” at a joint news conference with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Albanian Premier Edi Rama, and North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.

Von der Leyen praised the rule of law and anti-corruption reforms undertaken and resilience demonstrated by the two countries, calling it a “success” of their leaders and people.

The governments of North Macedonia and Albania did not implement the reforms just for EU accession, but because they are “good for your countries and are already delivering a better quality of life for your people,” she said.

Representing the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Fiala congratulated the two countries for “this milestone.”

“We all be stronger by your (European) career, your choice,” he said, adding that the two countries’ European commitment has been tested over the past months due to Russia’s war on Ukraine that started on Feb. 24.

Albania’s Rama expressed gratitude to Germany’s former Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron for their diplomatic efforts, as well as to “the Albanian people who never gave up to dream, to pursue the European path.”

He stressed that the opening of the accession talks is only “the end of the beginning” and “we need to continue to build a strong, democratic, European Albania, and Western Balkans.”

For his part, North Macedonia’s Kovacevski expressed hope for a fast EU accession process.

“With intensive and dedicated work, North Macedonia aims to be fully ready to assume the obligations of EU membership by the end of 2030,” he said.

He called the EU’s proposal on linguistic and cultural matters the “best possible solution” that protects and promotes the Macedonian language and paves the way for the negotiations.

“We are ready for the European Union ... We are impatiently waiting for the day when, with the full membership of North Macedonia in the EU, the Macedonian language will be one of the official languages ​​of the EU, equal to all the other 24 official languages ​​of the European Union,” said Kovacevski.

North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski congratulated all Macedonian citizens on the official start of talks for full EU membership.

“We are starting a new phase of political integration to become part of the European family of nations, where the Macedonian language will be one of the official languages ​​of the Union,” Pendarovski said in a statement.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the start of accession talks is a huge achievement for Albania and the EU.

“Albania’s full alignment with EU foreign policy & its role at the United Nations. Security Council reflects the country's strategic direction. We will continue walking our EU path together,” he said.

Borrell told the Macedonians that they will not lose their identity on the way to the EU.

“Nobody lost it. Your identity will remain and be augmented by other identities, which are not alternative but complementary ... We need you, we need North Macedonia to complete our complex identity. We need each other because we are stronger together,” he said.

North Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005, while Albania was granted the status in 2014.

The opening of negotiations has been stalled since 2020 due to a dispute between Skopje and Sofia over linguistic and historical matters.

North Macedonia and Bulgaria, following mediation efforts led by France, signed an agreement on Sunday that paved the way for the start of accession talks.

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