A group of influential European experts and former statesmen urged for specifying 2012 as a precise date for admittance of Macedonia in the European Union. 

According to the experts of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the Union should redefine Balkans by dividing the countries into two groups - Adriatic Peninsula and Central Balkans.
           
The first group would be comprised of Croatia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia, where EU has made some progress, says the article entitled "Goodbye Balkans, Hello Adriatic Peninsula", written by Daniel Korski from ECFR.
           
He suggests that EU should give the three countries of the Adriatic Region a date when they can expect to join the EU - Croatia's could be 2010, Albania's 2011 and Macedonia's 2012.  On reporters questions 'how is it possible for Albania to enter the EU faster than Macedonia or Serbia' Mr Korski had no answer, even though in his own report he was worried about organized crime in Albania.

The Central Balkans group would include Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
           
Elaborating the proposal for division of the Balkans on two groups, ECFR says that the current enlargement strategy is working in the Adriatic Region. "On the other hand, the intractable territorial and ethno-political problems of the 'Central Balkans' have proven immune to the EU's Stabilization and Association process," ECFR says.
           
The members of the European Council on Foreign Relations include Giuliano Amato - former Italian Prime Minister, Joschka Fischer - former German Foreign Minister, Martti Ahtisaari - former Finland's president and former UN Special Envoy for Kosovo, and Chris Patten - former EU Commissioner.