Is the rejection of Macedonia and Albania actually Macron's revenge?

"Observers in the region see France and The Netherlands' policy as not being fair and motivated by domestic politics and stereotypes," Bieber said. "This undermines the EU as being a fair player and having clear criteria, especially since the commission has given the green light for negotiation."
"I think this is elite skepticism in France about enlargement, loss of power in the EU and frustration that the French candidate for the European Commission has not been confirmed at hearings in the European Parliament," Bieber said in an interview with Skopje's "360 degree" program.
He estimated that there is currently a sense of frustration about the EU, and therefore he believes that Macron had turned against both countries - Northern Macedonia and Albania.
"We see Macron's criticism of the policies of the governments of Northern Macedonia and Albania, but much more towards the EU and its partners in the Union," Bieber said. Asked how he understands Macron's message that not all candidate countries should end up as full EU members, but rather that they should consider some kind of "privileged partnership", Biber says he thinks Macron does not have support for such an idea.
"I think he doesn't have support for that idea. I don't think this view is based on a long-term vision, so I doubt France will succeed in fostering that idea of replacing enlargement with privileged partnerships. I think it's more productive to say that enlargement will take longer, longer than we hoped for. Even if all goes well, Northern Macedonia will not join the EU in the next 10 years", Bieber said.
Now, he added, that period will be even longer.
"I know it's frustrating. In the meantime, privileged partnerships can take place in accessing structural funds,...