Macron ‘to block enlargement’ until EU is reformed

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will block any attempt to enlarge the EU until the bloc has undergone deep reforms, AP reports.

After EU leaders failed on Monday to fill the bloc’s top job posts, Macron said he would “refuse any kind of enlargement before a deep reform of our institutional functioning.”

The European Commission is recommending that Albania and North Macedonia be invited to open negotiations. EU member states plan to make a decision on their future by October.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned in May that any failure to start talks soon could “undermine stability and seriously discourage further reforms.”