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| Andreja Metelko-Zgombic while in an online interview with ABC News |
The European Commission should draw up a report on the fulfillment of the remaining conditions and present it to the Council of Ministers of the European Union. Andreja Metelko Zgombic says that in the political decision of March 25, there is a list of conditions that Albania must meet before holding the first intergovernmental conference.
Full interview:
The Ministers of European Affairs failed to reach an agreement on the negotiating framework for North Macedonia and Albania. German State Minister for Europe Michael Roth described this as a deep disappointment. Would you describe it as such?
He conveyed the sentiment of the vast majority of ministers gathered at the General Council of the European Union. Croatia really regrets that the Council was not able to reach a consensus on the negotiating framework for Albania and North Macedonia. As you know, such a decision requires unanimity. We express our support for the efforts made by the German presidency and hope again that a consensus can be reached by the end of the year. If this is impossible, then we really hope that the next presidency of the European Union, the Portuguese one, will lead the process towards a successful conclusion.
What happened to the conclusions on enlargement? A situation unprecedented before. The failure of the negotiating framework can be understood, but why were at least the conclusions on enlargement not approved?
Yes, we also regret that the Council could not approve conclusions on enlargement, which are traditionally approved once a year. This is life. We need to work harder because we do not want to send the wrong signal to the 6 countries of the Western Balkans. We need to strengthen the credibility of the enlargement process. During the Croatian presidency, we managed to focus on the enlargement process and we do not want to see it sidelined in the future.
What is Croatia's position on the negotiating framework with North Macedonia? Do you think that the German presidency failed to avoid the enlargement process being held hostage by bilateral issues? Is it fair this hostage-taking?
Achieving the approval of a negotiating framework is a very demanding job. During the Croatian presidency of the European Union, we managed to reach a unanimity for the political decision regarding the opening of negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. Meanwhile, the negotiating framework must implement the political decision that was taken. I do not think it is fair and I really hope that such a compromise will be found, which will have a positive impact on the start and continuation of membership negotiations with North Macedonia. Of course Albania, but…
But it must meet certain conditions. This leads me to the next question. What is Croatia's position regarding conditionality for Albania? Some member states that claim to be more realistic than the European Commission consider that there are still conditions that have not been met for the official opening of negotiations.
First, we were very happy that we managed to approve a political decision for Albania during the Croatian presidency. But then, in this decision, there is a list of conditions that Albania must meet before holding the first intergovernmental conference. And there are several issues, such as electoral reform, the functioning of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, anti-corruption efforts, asylum issues, and the issue of press freedom. The European Commission is closely following the efforts made. From Croatia's point of view, much has been done so far, that the efforts made are successful. Once the negotiating framework is approved, then it is up to the European Commission to prepare a report and present the facts and achievements made so far by Albania. I am sure that Albania has worked hard on the priorities and the opening of membership negotiations will take place within a short period of time.
Do you think that this decade is ending positively for the Western Balkans region? Croatia became a member, Montenegro and Serbia have advanced in the accession negotiation process, and North Macedonia and Albania are close to opening negotiations. It is true that the German presidency did not succeed for Macedonia and Albania and the impression is that if the Germans failed to unblock the situation on bilateral issues, then who can succeed next? However, a political decision was reached thanks to the Croatian presidency. So can this be called a positive decade for the region?
The enlargement process was blocked for one reason or another. During the Croatian presidency, we managed to give a new impetus to the enlargement process and to draw the attention of all member states to enlargement. The new enlargement methodology was approved and a political agreement reached on North Macedonia. It was very difficult, as the Croatian presidency of the European Union happened during the period of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and we were all focused on the consequences and challenges dictated by COVID-19 for our countries and our citizens. It was for this reason that we believe the agreement reached during the Croatian presidency was so valuable. We are really proud of this, because it is not a success not only for the six Balkan countries, but also for the European Union. Both parties benefit. Contributes to security, stability, prosperity, economic growth. All these advantages for the European continent.