Do Western Balkan countries like Macron's idea for a two-tier Europe?
France's President Emmanuel Macron has pitched one of the biggest reforms to the EU structure in decades - the idea of a second tier of countries outside the bloc that share the bloc's values and geography.
He suggested post-Brexit Britain could be involved, as well as countries impacted or threatened by Russia's invasion: Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
But what about the countries of the Western Balkans? How did Macron's words go down in a region that has seen long delays over EU membership?
In Albania, which applied to join in 2009, the idea of a two-tier Europe was received with feelings of realism and resignation. The country has seen its bid stall. That's because it's linked to the application of North Macedonia, which has been repeatedly vetoed by existing EU countries, the latest being Bulgaria.
“He [President Macron] was right five years ago, when he spoke of the need for another path to integration, but little has changed since then," said the office of Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, in a statement to Euronews Albania.
"However, it's time to think and move forward towards a new community of European democracies, but, having said that, I'm not so optimistic that something fundamentally different will happen than what revolves around the same ordinary gravity.”
Jorida Tabaku, head of the Albanian parliament’s European integration committee, saw Macron’s comments as an indication that the European Council -- made up of EU countries' heads of government or state and defines the overall direction of the bloc -- will not decide to start membership negotiations with Albania nor North Macedonia when they meet in June.
Tabaku, stressing the importance of EU integration as a tool to ensure the region's stability and
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