Nearly two thirds of ethnic Albanian voters polled by the Detektor poll said that they would see the decision of the European Council as an instruction who to vote for in the coming elections.

The Council should decide this week on whether to approve Macedonia’s request to open EU accession talks and France remains outspoken in its opposition to the opening of accession talks for both Macedonia and Albania. The poll showed that 62 percent of ethnic Albanians would follow the decision and vote accordingly. It’s believed that a negative decision from Brussels would mean that Albanian voters would turn against the ruling SDSM party and its DUI coalition partner, which depend on the Albanian vote to remain in office.

On the other hand, 58 percent of ethnic Macedonians said they will not be guided by the Brussels decision in their vote at the coming 2020 general elections.

Ethnic Albanian politicians often themselves say that they are guided by the instructions of international diplomats, mainly from the US and the EU, in their activities, while Macedonians have maintained a more independent minded outlook.