Wednesday (March 25th): EU greenlights membership consideration of Albania & North Macedonia

Oliver Varhelyi

Name? Oliver Varhelyi

Westphalian identity? Hungarian

Age? 48

Why is he in the news? The 27 European Ministers of Foreign Affairs agreed to start negotiations for the 35 Chapters of the acquis over European membership of Albania and North Macedonia. Oliver Varhelyi is the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, and,  therefore, responsible for the process. 

Why do we care? After enormous changes both countries have undergone in the past, one of them even changing its name, they have been patiently awaiting the beginning of the negotiations. But France and the Netherlands blocked negotiations from ever starting over an internal dispute of accession talks. Macron expected reforms and from the looks of it, he got what he wanted. 

Why should you care? Adding Albania and North Macedonia means more countries for vacation close to Europe’s favourite bathtub, the Mediterranean sea. Well, unless you are British. 

Who else cares? The people of Albania and North Macedonia who have been waiting for this moment for so long. Joining the EU demands a lot of desperately needed reforms and access to the single market. Unfortunately, joining the bloc also furthers general brain and youth drain from the region.

Any further comments? Let’s see how long the negotiations will last. Turkey’s negotiations started back in 2005…look where we are today.

Joshua Dario Hasenstab

General Coordinator