The European Commission proposed a tougher and more political admissions process for new member states Wednesday, in a concession to France which could revive membership hopes for Albania and North Macedonia.
Serbia and Montenegro, which have begun accession negotiations, will be allowed to continue as before, but their southern neighbours could be forced to revisit some questions they thought were settled.
This will be seen as an attempt to placate France, which had blocked Albania and North Macedonia from making further progress even after the European Commission deemed that they met the criteria for entry talks.
Brussels will produce a report on Albanian and North Macedonian progress before the end of the month, and wants to confirm they have a future inside the bloc at a Western Balkan summit at the end on May.
But some EU capitals remain sceptical, particularly France, whose minister for European affairs Amelie de Montchalin welcomed the Commission proposal but warned that nothing would be "automatic". "To open accession negotiations, we need two things," she told AFP after the Commission announcement. "This proposal must be accepted unanimously by the 27 member states without it being watered down."
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