Balkan clouds over EU enlargement

Welcome back. Month by month, Europe’s neighbourhood seems to grow more dangerous — a point illustrated by the military strikes by Iran and Israel on each other’s territory, and by Ukraine’s desperate struggle to repel Russian invaders. Even in the EU’s Balkan backyard, the troubles are mounting.

I’ll concentrate on a Balkan problem that, in my view, receives too little attention: the tensions between Bulgaria, an EU member, and North Macedonia, which hopes to join…