The EU’s European Affairs Ministers arrived in Luxembourg on Tuesday for the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting, where a decision is expected on the first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia and Albania, MIA reports from Brussels.

Several ministers expressed support for North Macedonia and Albania ahead of the meeting, calling not to block the two countries given the achieved reform progress that should be rewarded.

Bulgaria however is showing no signs for now of changing its position despite Portugal’s diplomatic mediation attempt, while most EU members are not in favor of decoupling Skopje and Tirana in this part of the process.

State Secretary at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Martin Klus, said that the enlargement process is very important to Slovakia, pointing out that today’s meeting will try to find a way to unblock North Macedonia and Albania’s EU path.

“I look forward to a positive response because the EU’s credibility in the region is at stake, which is very important to Slovakia,” Klus said.

German Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, reiterated Germany’s position that bilateral issues should not hinder the enlargement process, while Lithuania said that the enlargement policy and the efforts of candidate countries should not be compromised.

Messages of encouragement also arrived from Ireland, whose minister voiced expectation for a step forward in the enlargement policy to be made today.