France insists the EU should not, at this stage, greenlight the start of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, a French diplomatic source said, speaking to the state-run North Macedonian News Agency “MIA”.

The decision on whether or not to start accession negotiations with these two countries is expected to be taken during the EU Summit on 17 and 18 October.

“The two countries have not implemented what is required of them and must make more efforts”, said a French official, who added that the EU should reassess the situation in the spring of 2020.

France’s position, according to diplomatic sources, is that the EU should focus on burning issues, such as the Brexit, migration and economic development, and that the issue of enlargement should be postponed for a later date.

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