EC Likely to Favour Macedonia Talks

The European Commission, EC, will most likely recommend the opening of accession talks between the EU and Macedonia, sources tell Balkan Insight.

However, the EC is unlikely to recommend a date for the launch of negotiations, officials that have read the progress report on Macedonia said.

Macedonia has been an EU candidate state since December 2005. In intervening years, the EC has failed to recommend the opening of accession talks because Skopje failed to meet established criteria.

In spring 2008, the EC set additional benchmarks which Macedonia had to fulfil before the start of negotiations with Brussels. In this year's progress report, the EC will confirm that Macedonia has fullfilled these eight benchmarks and has thus achieved the targets needed for talks to commence.

However, according to EU sources who spoke to Balkan Insight, the Commission will not recommend a start date for the talks due to the potential political impact thereof; related to disagreements with Greece over "the name issue". The EC is still not sure of what kind of approach new Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's government will take with regard to the dispute, Brussels sources said.

Nonetheless, "with this decision the Commission will do its part and tell policymakers that Macedonia is ready", a source told Balkan Insight. "Now the ball is in the EU Council's court," the source added.

After the publication of the EC report this week, Greece and fellow EU member states will need to take a decision in December on a possible date for the start of talks.

That will be the moment when the Greek government will disclose what stance it will take on the issue.

The previous Greek government blocked Macedonia's NATO integration, demanding the prior resolution of the name dispute. The naming row was also raised by the Karamanlis government with regards to Macedonia's EU accession process.