The Diplomat
Spain is hopeful that the Intergovernmental Conference for the accession of Albania to the European Union can be held soon. This was expressed yesterday, in a telephone conversation, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, to her Albanian colleague, Olta Xhacka.
In her Twitter account, González Laya said that she had congratulated Xhacka on her recent appointment and reiterated Spain’s support for Albania’s European aspirations.
The negotiations on the EU accession process of Albania and North Macedonia, to which the EU-27 gave the green light in March last year, are blocked by the refusal of Bulgaria, which claims historical and cultural differences with Macedonia and demands a bilateral agreement prior to the talks that should start with an Intergovernmental Conference.
Bulgaria’s attitude towards North Macedonia is harming Albania, since the two countries have been hand in hand in the process of joining the EU, where there is greater sympathy towards Skopje than towards Tirana, because they consider the Macedonians to be more aligned with the community principles.
However, last December, some twenty MEPs called for the situation to be unblocked and, in the case of Albania, stressed that it has made progress in terms of political and judicial reforms.
