EU agrees to membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia

The start of EU accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia was announced on Tuesday at the first intergovernmental conference with Tirana and Skopje chaired by the rotating Czech Presidency of the EU Council.

Speaking on behalf of the EU, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that a second conference will be convened after North Macedonia honours its commitment to include the Bulgarians in its Constitution. Lipavsky noted the need for North Macedonia to implement its bilateral treaties with Greece and Bulgaria in good faith. He welcomed a bilateral protocol signed in Sofia earlier this month, describing it as an important step forward and a part of the accession process.

Lipavsky said North Macedonia forms a part of Europe's history, heritage and culture and has been an EU membership applicant since 2005. He called on the country to keep up constructive regional cooperation and strengthen its relations with its neighbours.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said July 19 "marks a major breakthrough that will be crucial for North Macedonia, for the Western Balkans and for the European Union as a whole". He assured the people of North Macedonia that they will not lose their identity on their path to the EU. "We [the European Union] need you, we need North Macedonia in order to complete our complex identity. We need each other because we are stronger together," Borrell said.

European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi noted that changing the Constitution of North Macedonia to include the Bulgarians will contribute to the protection of fundamental rights and will automatically lead to a full opening of EU accession negotiations with Skopje at another conference. Varhelyi expects that North Macedonia will step up its efforts to meet the accession requirements completely. He added that later in the day the European Commission will begin assessing the country's preparedness for EU membership from a legislative point of view.

North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski described Tuesday's decision of the EU as much awaited and well deserved. "We respect our neighbours and we have no outstanding issues with them," Kovacevski said. "We are ready to promote good-neighbourliness by implementing our treaties with Greece and Bulgaria in good faith. We expect the same from our neighbours," he said. He added that his country should be ready to join the EU by the end of the decade.