On 23 March 2020, The EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the launch of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The formal decision is expected to be taken on 24 March by EU Foreign Ministers in the General Affairs Council meeting via written procedure under the COVID-19 measures.

In a statement, IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu indicated that the launch of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia had been on the EU agenda for some time and emphasised that the decision made after overcoming the reservations of some Member State including France was of critical importance for the EU’s future. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated that the decision to start accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia was key for maintaining EU’s credibility and reputation in its immediate neighbourhood. Chairman Zeytinoğlu made the following statement:

“The decision to start accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia is an important step for the future of the EU. The issue has come to the agenda of the European Council last October; however, it was vetoed by France. President Macron insisted for EU's decision-making procedures and enlargement policy to be revised before negotiations could be launched with the two candidate countries. As it can be recalled, the biggest obstacle to North Macedonia's EU membership was the name dispute. Greece had been objecting to the country’s use of its constitutional name ‘Macedonia’ as it had a region with the same name and viewed it as a security threat. According to a landmark deal reached between the two countries in 2018, the country agreed to change its name to North Macedonia. It was a huge mistake for the EU not to open its doors to a country even willing to change its constitutional name to become an EU member. For the EU, it meant a loss of credibility and reputation in its immediate neighbourhood. The launch of negotiations with Albania has been the subject of controversy. Besides France, Denmark and the Netherlands had blocked the opening of accession negotiations with Albania due to problems concerning corruption and organised crime. The Committee of Permanent Representatives, consisting of ambassadors of the EU Member States, has given a green light to the opening of negotiations with these countries. We expect this decision to be approved by the EU Foreign Ministers and by EU leaders.”

“Restoration of EU’s Relations with Turkey and the Revitalisation of the Accession Process is Important for EU’s Soft Power"

Indicating that it was unacceptable for France to block the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu welcomed the step to reverse this wrong decision. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu stated that the EU’s importance should be re-emphasised in a Europe traumatised by COVID-19 and underscored that the enlargement policy had a key function in this regard. Chairman Zeytinoğlu continued as follows:

“The EU is shaken by an existential crisis. Europe has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak after China. Especially Italy, Spain and France were affected extremely negatively. The EU has been quite late in responding to this crisis. As of last week, they have taken some important steps such as restricting travel from outside the EU, procuring medical equipment, and easing the Eurozone budget rules. After the crisis has subsided, Member States will ask the EU the following question: What did you do for us in our hardest time? The EU will need to explain to all Member States why its existence is necessary. In these difficult times, we see that China has stood out. China sending materials including protective equipment and test kits to Italy, indicates that China's soft power is set to increase across Europe. Nevertheless, the EU needs to display a visionary policy and emphasise its importance for entire Europe. Launching negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at this critical time will be an important step for the soft power of the EU. Similarly, the restoration of relations with Turkey and the revitalisation of the membership perspective would be a step highlighting the EU’s importance for the future of Europe. We invite the EU to take action concerning this issue”.