Die Presse, the Austrian newspaper which closely follows Balkan developments, reports that several EU member states have opposed the opening of accession talks for “North Macedonia” and Albania. According to the paper, the latest visit by Zoran Zaev to Brussels, where he met Jean Claude Juncker and Johannes Hahn, changed nothing.

France and the Netherlands are the main opponents to the opening of accession talks for both countries, the paper reports, listing Dutch resistance as even more intense than that of France, given its request to re-introduce visas for Albanian citizens who wish to visit the EU due to the high crime levels of the Albanian emigrants.

Hahn, who is the Austrian appointed EU Enlargement Commissioner, is pushing strongly to reward Zaev for the name change. But on top of France and the Netherlands, Denmark and even many in Germany oppose the accession talks, especially opening them in June, as Zaev promised would happen if Macedonia accepts the “new name”.