Edi Rama : « No EU membership talks soon, and it’s Bulgaria’s fault »

BELGIUM-EU-ALBANIA
The Albanian leader also said he supports French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of a European Political Community | Pool photo by John thys via Getty Images

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he doesn’t expect an EU summit next week to clear the way for his country to begin membership talks and placed the blame on Bulgaria.

All EU governments agreed back in March 2020 to give Albania and North Macedonia the green light to start membership talks. But negotiations have yet to get underway after Bulgaria insisted it wanted concessions from North Macedonia in bilateral disputes touching on language, history and identity.

Although Sofia’s blockade applies only to North Macedonia, the EU has favored handling the membership bids of Albania and North Macedonia together — so Albania is effectively blocked too.

Read the original article on the POLITICO website.