In fact Macron, probably unwittingly, did nothing more than to , publicly, state what has been known, privately, for a long time now…. Brussels, does not really want to enlarge by enveloping the Balkan countries…For at least 15 years, and most likely more, the well-known and much repeated mantra : “we will take you in our bosom, just fulfill a few more conditions….” has been used for two purposes… to keep the politicians s of the Balkan countries ( in fact, Ex-Yu countries) , “in check” and having them dance ( as much as circumstances allow) by the tunes played in Brussels, and, at the same time, allowing the same politicians to keep their populations “in check” , by promising them the “European dream” , which is just around the corner… only a few more conditions left…

In fact the enlargement promise has been the proverbial carrot held in front of the animal to keep it doing the will of the master while hoping that, at the end, it will manage to reach the tasty treat- yet, never realizing that it is supposed to go after the carrot, but never actually, eat it.

The endless changes in “needed conditions”, timetables and “benchmarks” are nothing more than the stick with witch the Brussels keeps holding the carrot just outside the donkey’s reach. And, if by any chance the animal manages to get closer to the carrot, a new “element” pops up which pushes the carrot away, just enough to make it still seem reachable.

And it is not just the fault of the Brussels…. the game which is being played by the EU has been painfully obvious to all of the “leaders” of the Ex-Yu countries, but, the same play also suits their needs… They keep waiving the EU accession in front of the voters while claiming ( In not exactly these words) that their countrymen are “almost there”, and that they will be getting the Visa access, free movement rights, maybe even the EU citizenship within the next 6 or 12 months… for as long as the citizens keep voting the same “leaders” into power.

So, The public statement of the French president should come as no surprise to anyone…. Macron just happened to be unusually honest… nothing more.

The fact of the matter is that the EU, seems to be completely unwilling to fully accept the Ex-yu countries, ( at the end of the day, why would it… accepting these countries will not give much to the EU, but it would mean that Europe would loose a very useful source of cheap labor, and “practical” political tensions which can further the goals of foreign policies) but it is also more than willing to use the promise of accession in order to further it’s goals…