Top Balkan Diplomats Mull EU Enlargement
Bulgaria in EU | November 12, 2012, Monday // 10:34| views
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria, are holding talks in Sofia for the aligning of their positions on the EU integration of the other Balkan countries. File photo
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Romania and Bulgaria are discussing Monday the policy of enlargement of the European Union in the Western Balkans and EU border security.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Dimitris Avramopoulos, of Romania,Titus Corlatean, and of Bulgaria, Nikolay Mladenov, are holding the talks in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
The diplomats will focus their effort on aligning their positions on the EU integration of the other Balkan countries with Macedonia being a special focus since it is expected that the European Commission will propose in December to Skopje to start negotiations in 2013 for EU membership.
This is earlier than the expected reaching of a solution in the dispute with Greece about the name of the country.
Greece has been so far blocking Macedonia's joining of NATO and the start of negotiations with Brussels on EU membership, because the name Republic of Macedonia is seen by Athens as a territorial and historical claim for its antique legacy.
The new Greek Cabinet has extended a hand and a proposal for a memorandum of good neighborly relations.
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