North Macedonia’s hopes of joining the EU could face a setback if its rightist opposition party makes headway in Wednesday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
The nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party did better than expected in the first round of last month’s presidential elections, suggesting that voters are losing faith in the ruling Social Democrats, which have failed to advance talks on joining the EU and crack down on corruption.
But despite 79% of the population being in favor of EU accession, it is widely believed that a resurgent right could slow down EU accession talks and complicate relations with neighboring EU countries Greece and Bulgaria.
Although North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020, little progress has been made with EU membership mainly because of Bulgarian opposition over history and language issues.
Greece has also been problematic over the country’s name, which Athens says implies territorial ambitions towards its own northern province of Macedonia.
According to the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), a VMRO-DPMNE victory could further set back EU talks, as the party is opposed to a 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia.
The IFIMES said: “The cancellation of already signed and ratified international agreements and obligations and (their) renegotiation would mean the loss of another 20 or 30 years… and giving up the country’s Euro-Atlantic path.”
What are the candidate countries?
North Macedonia first submitted its EU membership application in 2004, 13 years after gaining independence from Yugoslavia.
It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Albania submitted its application in 2009 and achieved candidate status in 2014. But as former Soviet republics, Georgia and Moldova face problems with pro-Russian breakaway regions, and Ukraine is embroiled in a bitter war with Russia.
Since 2018, Turkey’s accession process has stagnated with no sign of progress.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was granted candidate status in 2022, is struggling to control organized crime; Georgia is partially occupied by Russian troops; and Serbia’s path to accession is blocked until it normalizes relations with Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Montenegro’s path towards accession is slowly gaining momentum following the election of a new ‘Europe Now’ government in 2023, which has declared joining the EU a foreign policy priority with the aim of gaining membership as early as 2008.
But despite 79% of the population being in favor of EU accession, it is widely believed that a resurgent right could slow down EU accession talks and complicate relations with neighboring EU countries Greece and Bulgaria.
Although North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020, little progress has been made with EU membership mainly because of Bulgarian opposition over history and language issues.
Greece has also been problematic over the country’s name, which Athens says implies territorial ambitions towards its own northern province of Macedonia.
According to the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), a VMRO-DPMNE victory could further set back EU talks, as the party is opposed to a 2018 agreement with Greece to change its name from Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia.
The IFIMES said: “The cancellation of already signed and ratified international agreements and obligations and (their) renegotiation would mean the loss of another 20 or 30 years… and giving up the country’s Euro-Atlantic path.”
What are the candidate countries?
North Macedonia first submitted its EU membership application in 2004, 13 years after gaining independence from Yugoslavia.
It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Albania submitted its application in 2009 and achieved candidate status in 2014. But as former Soviet republics, Georgia and Moldova face problems with pro-Russian breakaway regions, and Ukraine is embroiled in a bitter war with Russia.
Since 2018, Turkey’s accession process has stagnated with no sign of progress.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was granted candidate status in 2022, is struggling to control organized crime; Georgia is partially occupied by Russian troops; and Serbia’s path to accession is blocked until it normalizes relations with Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Montenegro’s path towards accession is slowly gaining momentum following the election of a new ‘Europe Now’ government in 2023, which has declared joining the EU a foreign policy priority with the aim of gaining membership as early as 2008.
Source: Reuters
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