France signaled on Monday that it backs a new blueprint to reform how the EU handles negotiations with would-be members, potentially opening the way for Albania and North Macedonia to begin talks.
But French EU minister Amélie de Montchalin said the EU as a whole would have to swiftly adopt the reform plan, developed by the European Commission, if Tirana and Skopje are to get the green light next month.
The question of whether to open membership talks with the two Western Balkan countries has been one of the most contentious issues among EU governments in recent years. Germany and France, the EU’s two most powerful nations, have been on opposite sides of the debate, with Chancellor Angela Merkel speaking out in favor of starting talks while French President Emmanuel Macron has blocked them.
De Montchalin told reporters in Brussels she had “a very good exchange” with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi on his plan for a new “enlargement methodology,” due to be unveiled on Wednesday.
“There are things that France has been asking for for years and we can see that the Commission has been able to work in a pretty concrete way on this subject,” de Montchalin said.
De Montchalin also made clear that a green light from Paris would depend not only on the new enlargement process.
She stressed that Paris wanted “a reversible [enlargement] process, which means that we can move forward and also backward.”
“I think that the communication to be made by the commissioner on Wednesday will show that we have a change of methodology, I would even say a change of paradigm.”
Várhelyi has not yet presented his plan publicly but he is expected to address France’s complaint that candidate countries cannot be ejected from the enlargement process even if they backslide on issues such as rule of law and democratic standards.
Merkel said last week that a deal on opening membership negotiations should be reached by March, citing “geopolitical” necessity.
To meet that target, de Montchalin said, the EU would have to move quickly. “It is extremely important, if we want to prepare a positive moment in March … for the member states to quickly give their approval on the methodology — or not, in which case we will decide what we will do,” she said.
De Montchalin also made clear that a green light from Paris would depend not only on the new enlargement process. She said France would also need to be satisfied that Albania and North Macedonia have made enough progress on various reforms to begin talks.
“On the basis of the situation report that the Commission will make in March, we must be sure that the conditions are met,” she said.