Political Changes in Albania and Macedonia under European Union Progress

Abstract

The topic on the current integration phase of the Republic of Macedonia after the completion of the questionnaire and
the commencement of the ratification process of the Stabilization-Association Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia
and the European Commission by national assemblies of the EU member states. In this phase, institutional reforms are
fundamental and within those the establishment of a new modern, functional, democratic European administration is a crucial
pre-condition. Since 1991, and especially after the endorsement of the Ohrid Framework Agreement in 2001, Macedonia has
been clearly and unambiguously determined to pursue the strategic orientation in order to integrate in the EU. After the
endorsement of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, Macedonia has undergone a long and complex way of reforms towards its
European integration goal. Some of the steps include the Stabilization and Association Process, endorsement of the Stabilization
and Association Agreement and the accomplishment of the application questionnaire as a candidate country for EU
membership. The country is currently going through a phase of two parallel processes that converge to the country’s full
membership in the EU: the process of ratification of the Integration Agreement between Macedonia and the EC as well as the
process of implementation of remaining reforms in order to accomplish the whole set of membership criteria.