North Macedonia's prime minister on Wednesday urged the EU to start membership talks with Skopje immediately, warning any delay could topple his government and bolster nationalist, anti-European parties.
EU member states are expected to discuss Skopje's bid to join the bloc in Luxembourg later this month, and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev warned that a negative response would open the door to greater influence from outside powers like Russia and China.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, says North Macedonia and Albania are both ready to start talks to join the EU, but several existing members such as France and the Netherlands are reluctant.
"With a negative decision, they will bring back nationalism and radicalism again in North Macedonia and in whole region," Zaev told reporters in Brussels.
"They will open the space for third sides like China and Russia."
"Now if Europe doesn't deliver, the government will probably be destroyed."
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