LUXEMBOURG — The EU has finally found a common line on membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania — by deciding not to decide.

After struggling with the highly contentious question of whether to invite the two Balkan countries to begin talks, EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg delayed a decision until October.

A year ago, the EU held out the prospect of the two countries being invited to start membership talks this month. The European Commission declared in May that both had made the necessary progress on democratic standards and the rule of law. But some of the EU's member countries, including France and Germany, were not willing to give the green light on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately a minority of member states were not able to support the Commission's proposal to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia already today,” Johannes Hahn, the European commissioner for EU enlargement, said after the meeting. “We are not 100 percent where we would like it to be but I think we have made some progress."

The failure to reach agreement on inviting the two countries to begin talks has infuriated some EU members and European Commission officials. They argue that delaying a decision undermines the bloc's credibility, puts the pro-EU governments of both countries in peril and risks boosting strategic rivals in the western Balkans such as Russia, China and Turkey.

The lack of appetite for enlargement among some countries meant that the ministers could not indicate that Albania or North Macedonia could expect a positive decision in October.

Opponents of starting talks cite the western Balkans' deep-seated problems with corruption, organized crime and poverty and its recent history of conflict. France has emerged as a leading enlargement skeptic, arguing that the EU must deepen integration among existing members and reform unwieldy decision-making processes before it contemplates adding new countries.

For both Albania and North Macedonia, the text agreed by ministers declares that “in light of the limited time available and the importance of the matter, the Council will revert to the issue with a view to reaching a clear and substantive decision as soon as possible and no later than October 2019.”

Supporters of starting talks have blamed the delay on Paris, which pushed successfully for the Commission's annual assessments of candidate countries to be postponed by more than a month, until after the European Parliament election. That decision triggered the problem of “the limited time available” mentioned in the final text.

But Paris was not alone in favoring the postponement of the reports in an effort to keep them out of the European election campaign. “Germany was very supportive of the French request and others too,” Hahn said.

German MPs said the delay meant they did not have time to reach a decision before Tuesday's meeting of ministers. As the government needs parliament's consent for a decision, Berlin was not able to take a definitive position at the meeting.

Countries and officials in favor of EU enlargement did their best to insist that the process is still alive.

The Bundestag is not expected to reach a view until late September, “providing France with a great way to delay the whole process,” said an EU diplomat who follows the Balkans closely. “Sometimes we have the impression that France wants to kick the can into the next Commission so as to restart the evaluation and get more time,” added the diplomat.

The current European Commission's term ends at the end of October.

The idea of enlarging the European Union is unpopular with voters in many Western European member states, who fear it could lead to more migration into their countries and more cash transfers to poorer newer members.

France's representative at Tuesday's meeting, European Affairs Minister Amélie de Montchalin, did not speak to reporters. But the French foreign ministry said before the gathering that she would stress that "the enlargement process is based on rigorous criteria and the merits of the candidates for EU membership, with no pre-established timetable."

"She will also emphasize our support for greater EU engagement in the western Balkans while stressing that enlargement cannot be our only tool for managing relations with that region," the ministry said in a statement.

The lack of appetite for enlargement among countries such as France meant that the ministers could not even indicate that either Albania or North Macedonia could expect a positive decision in October, diplomats said.

“The reason we were given is that it would prejudge the Bundestag decision but it seems ridiculous. We would have found the right language if there were a will,” said one of the diplomats.

The impression of many diplomats is that the process is nearing an end, even though a new way of dealing with the bloc's near neighbors is not in sight.

Most diplomats who spoke to POLITICO said they expected that only North Macedonia would get the green light for membership talks in October. The country has won international praise for settling a long-running dispute with neighboring Greece, which even involved a change of name from Macedonia to North Macedonia.

Albania has won plaudits for far-reaching judicial reform but the country is in the midst of political turbulence, with the main opposition party boycotting parliament and the president trying to postpone local elections in defiance of the government.

Adding to the complexity of the issue for the EU, the government of the Netherlands — which has also been skeptical on enlargement — now has its hands tied due to a recent decision by the Dutch parliament to oppose membership talks for Albania, while keeping the door open for North Macedonia.

That decision adds to the chances of EU decisions on the two countries being "decoupled," to the dismay of EU members such as Italy, Baltic countries, and Central and Eastern European states, which want both governments to get the go-ahead.

"I'm afraid that decoupling has already happened, in the Dutch parliament,” said a senior EU diplomat.

Any decision to open membership talks requires the agreement of all EU member states.

Ministers also had a tough time agreeing a text on Turkey, whose membership talks have ground to a halt over disagreements between the EU and Ankara over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's autocratic rule.

Cyprus wanted language to put those talks into an even deeper freeze, to stop the EU sending funds to Ankara and to stop meetings with Turkish officials due to Turkey drilling for energy in the Eastern Mediterranean in an area under Cypriot control.

The final text says the EU “calls on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus, and refrain from any such actions” and that “the Council invites the Commission and the European External Action Service to submit options for appropriate measures without delay.”

Countries and officials in favor of EU enlargement did their best to insist that the process is still alive. The text approved by ministers stresses that the “Council reaffirms its commitment to enlargement.”

Yet the impression of many diplomats is that the process is nearing an end, even though a new way of dealing with the bloc's near neighbors is not in sight.

“The position of some member states is getting colder, if not hostile, for reasons of internal politics,” said another senior diplomat.