Macedonia will on Thursday apply for European Union membership as it hopes to boost its chances of joining the continent's top table after implementing vital reforms

Branko Crvenkovski, the prime minister, will deliver the application in Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, during talks with Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister. Macedonia last year accelerated efforts to pass a raft of reforms to cement peace after nearly collapsing into civil war three years ago, when ethnic Albanian militants spilled over the border from Kosovo, sparking tensions with the Slav majority. The reforms tweak the sensitive balance of power between the Slav Macedonians and the ethnic Albanian minority. The small country of 2m people has long been cited by the EU as a model of inter-ethnic harmony in the Balkans, which has been troubled by ethnic tensions since the wars in the 1990s following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, this month praised the country for its "impressive" recovery. However, diplomats in Brussels, including Mr Solana, still have reservations over the country's progress.