The European Commission will again recommend that Macedonia and Albania should open EU accession talks. EC is working on a new report meant to bolster the odds of the two countries after they were vetoed by France and the Netherlands last October.

According to the Macedonian Information Agency, the report is already prepared and will be published some time this week. It contains a positive recommendation for Macedonia and reports that it has delivered on the required reforms.

According to MIA, the Commission welcomes some of the controversial moves the SDSM led Government undertook in the judiciary, such as the scandalous adoption of changes to the law on state prosecutors that were prompted by the major Racket scandal. It also notes that some of the cases initiated by the now disgraced Special Prosecutor’s Office hit the statute of limitations as Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva was charged with abuse of office and high level corruption.

The report will also welcome the dismissal of half a dozen judges, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who was pushed out by former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. Recent leaks reveal that Zaev also maintained a significant level of control over the judge before his dismissal. The EC will also call on the Government to put an end to the large number of nepotistic hirings and promotions in the public administration, that erode the merit system.