European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, who this morning met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani, reassured him that the position of the European Commission on starting negotiations remains unchanged, reported MIA correspondent from Brussels.
Following a tete-a-tete meeting of Varhelyi and Osmani, the European Commission announced for MIA several details of what was discussed.
-Our position remains unchanged. We are eagerly awaiting the first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia and Albania. The two countries have met the conditions and now it is up to the EU to deliver, said the EU Commissioner to the Head of the Macedonian Diplomacy, says Spokesperson Ana Pisonero for MIA.
The European Commission adds that now that the elections are over in Bulgaria, Brussels hopes for fast progress on the ground in resolving the open issues between Skopje and Sofia.
-The Commission will remain in close contact with all relevant parties and will continue to work with the Slovenian Presidency to achieve our common goal for holding the first Intergovernmental Conference with North Macedonia and Albania this year already, says the European Commission and encourages N. Macedonia and Bulgaria to find a mutually acceptable solution for the bilateral disputes, said Pisonero for MIA.
The decision for holding the first Intergovernmental Conference, which marks the formal start of the negotiations for EU membership, and the adoption of the negotiating framework, are made in the EU Council, more specifically, at the level of member states. The European Commission has a role of a proposer.
For now, despite all positive signals from the European Commission and by all EU member states, Bulgaria is still blocking North Macedonia in the process.
The hope is that by December 31 a solution will be found. Minister Osmani yesterday said for MIA that the “alarm is on” everywhere in Europe and the US as well, but that no one can guarantee that Sofia will lift the veto.
source: MIA
translation: N. Cvetkovska
