EU Summit Parks Macedonia Membership Bid

EU Foreign Ministers agreed to delay the issue of Macedonia's EU accession to  later in 2015, once they are updated by the European Commission on the progress of its relations with neighbouring Greece and Bulgaria.

"The Council will re­access the matter in 2015 on the basis of an updated EC report, implementation of reforms, as well as steps taken to promote good neighbourly relations and to reach a negotiated and mutually accepted solution to the name issue," reads the conclusion of the General Affairs Council, which is likely to be adopted by the European Council on Friday.

This conclusion caused little surprise in Macedonia, where Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki had already warned the public "not to have big expectations from the summit".

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski spent the time of the European Council Summit in Brussels, but at a different venue, attending the summit of the centre-right European People's Party, EPP.

Due to a years-long blockade on Macedonia's membership hopes by EU member-state Greece, it was certain, even before the summit began, that the sixth consecutive European Commission recommendation for a start to Macedonia's EU accession talks would not be accepted.

Macedonia obtained EU candidate status back in December 2005 and European Commission reports have recommended a start to membership talks each year since 2009.

But it has never been offered a date for talks, or an invitation to join NATO, owing to a Greek blockade related to the dispute over its name, to which Greece objects.

Greece insists that Macedonia's name implies territorial claims to its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

In 2012, Bulgaria joined Greece in blocking Macedonia's accession bid,...