German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to reassure Western Balkan nations that support for their membership in the European Union remains strong, stressing that it is in the bloc’s “strategic interest” to bring in the new members.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has criticized the European Union for delaying accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia and urged the bloc to offer the Balkan states a clear path towards EU membership.
Officials from European countries sought to reassure Western Balkans nations that are hoping to join the European Union that the bloc still looks favorably on their aspirations.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz has called for “stronger cooperation” between the European Union and the six Western Balkan countries that remain outside the bloc, saying it will help increase the “stability and development” of the region.
Around 1,000 people gathered on June 29 in the capital of North Macedonia, Skopje, for the first-ever gay pride parade in a Balkan country that hopes to finally make progress toward EU membership.
Hundreds of people have marched through Skopje as the Macedonian capital hosted its first gay pride parade
Facing threats, harassment, and sometimes violence, LGBT activists in the Balkans have pushed ahead with protests and parades. As North Macedonia holds its first gay pride march in the capital, Skopje, members of the LGBT community there speak about the challenges they face. (Reuters)
A Budapest court has rejected an extradition request from North Macedonia for its former prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, who fled to Hungary in November after he was sentenced to a two-year prison term for corruption.
Since the settlement of a decades-long name dispute, Macedonians continue to face needling from critics of the process that was supposed to clear their path to the EU and NATO.
The European Union has postponed a decision on whether to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania until later this year.
European Council President Donald Tusk has said that the EU should launch accession talks with both North Macedonia and Albania, but warned there will be no quick decision.
The European Union is being pressed to begin accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania before the end of the month as promised despite resistance from some bloc members.
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