Zaev to personally persuade Merkel for a date


Government Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced another meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but did not specify when and where the meeting would take place. “I am glad that a message has been sent for the exact date for a meeting with Chancellor Merkel. This success was also with Chancellor Merkel and the EU member […]

When you are going through hard times, remember Croatia’s path to the EU


Jadranka Kosor was Croatia’s prime minister in the period between 2009 and 2011, when, after the resignation of the controversial Ivo Sanader, she succeeded the helm of the HDZ party. While serving as the head of the government in Zagreb, an agreement was reached to overcome the border dispute with Slovenia, which meant unblocking Croatia’s […]

The Netherlands doesn’t give the green light for Albania’s accession talks


The Dutch government will continue to keep the doors for Albania’s accession talks closed. The confirmation has come from the Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok during a parliamentary debate with opposition parties. “The government is not interested on opening accession talks between EU and Albania. Albania still has a long journey ahead”, he said. Meanwhile, […]

Austrian MEPs demand opening of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania


After the EU Commission issued a recommendation for the opening of accession talks with the two Western Balkan states North Macedonia and Albania, the European parliamentarians of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Karas and Mandl demand that the “promises” be kept. The decision to open accession talks will be taken by the Member States later […]

Zaev would trade two Nobel Prizes for an EU talks date


North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev once again urged EU member countries to set a date for starting accession talks with North Macedonia, this time in an interview with Belgian daily Le Soir. The interview cites Zaev as explaining that should no date be given to the country, he could be blamed by lawmakers that […]

What does EC report on North Macedonia say?


EU ambassador to Skopje, Samuel Zbogar has submitted to authorities in the country the annual progress report issued by the European Commission which recommends the opening of negotiations for North Macedonia. The report says that the country has made progress in all domains, particularly in key reforms. “North Macedonia continued to implement EU reforms”, the […]

EU member states cast their final vote in EU parliamentary elections


Elections for the European Parliament are held today in most member states of the European Union. Countries such as Croatia, Germany, France, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Malta, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Estonia and Lithuania in Hungary are voting today for Members of the European Parliament. The European elections were already […]

Plomp: EC recommendation must go through all EU member-states parliaments to be approved


In order to be approved, the European Commission’s recommendation for the start of accession negotiations must go through the parliaments of all EU member-states, which will be affected by the ongoing European elections, said Dutch Ambassador Willem Wouter Plomp. “The European elections in Netherlands take place today, the European Commission Progress Report is pending and […]

North Macedonia receives positive signals about the launch of accession talks


Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn is convinced that North Macedonia will receive a recommendation to launch EU accession talks before the start of the summer. Hahn announced this from Vienna, where he attended an economic forum, adding that a lot of work is being done to convince skeptic countries for the enlargement of the union. He […]

European elections 2019: The enemy at the door


The political crisis in Austria is neither accidental nor unique. Nor was it surprising. It was the revelation and possibly the confirmation of how the far-right in Europe is being bolstered by known/unknown “centers” that want to destabilize the European Union and make it backtrack. Of course, merely deciding to boost the far-right is not […]

Osmani: Two deadlines for the agreement on the SPO


Deputy PM for European Affairs Bujar Osmani is convinced that North Macedonia will enter the second stage of the EU accession process after 20 years of efforts and begin accession negotiations. “We are working with member-states on the dilemmas they have on enlargement. However, these dilemmas do not relate to us, because North Macedonia has […]

Zernovski: We’re optimists over finally getting a date for start of EU accession talks


We expect all EU member states to give green light to North Macedonia, said Deputy Foreign Minister Andrej Zernovski, ahead of a think-tank forum on “Reinforcing the European Integration of the Western Balkans – Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future” organized by the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis”, the Warsaw-based Center for Eastern […]

Pendarovski: Start of EU accession negotiations is a deserved and required step


The start of North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations is deserved and required, for the purpose of stimulating comprehensive reforms and enhancing political culture in the country, President Stevo Pendarovski told EU Ambassador Samuel Zbogar. “We expect the leaders of EU member-states to be consistent to their promises and acknowledge the work done, enabling North Macedonia’s […]

Western Balkan leaders: EU should open its doors


Western Balkan leaders met today in Tirana for the Brdo-Brijuni summit, an initiative which acts as an important forum for the promotion of dialogue and cooperation between countries of the region in their path towards integration in the EU and Euro-Atlantic structures. According to Albanian president, Ilir Meta, who was also the host of the […]

Osmani to defend the country’s progress in Brussels on Friday


Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani said that we are entering the last 20 days before the announcement of this year’s European Commission report and that he expects this to be a report on the basis of which the country will get a decision to start accession negotiations with the EU in June. […]

Plenkovic: We will do our best North Macedonia to open accession talks in June


Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that Croatia will do its best to support North Macedonia to get a date for opening accession negotiations in June. He also said that EU enlargement would be high on the agenda when his country is to take over the rotating EU Presidency next year. “All our friends in […]

Optimism in Skopje over launch of accession talks with EU


North Macedonia’s PM Zoran Zaev is optimistic that the country will launch accession talks with the EU. “I have just arrived from Berlin following meetings with German chancellor Merkel and French president Macron. We have big friends in Europe. This year, the country not will become a NATO member, but it will also launch accession […]

Thimonier: Swift election of president will bring the country closer to the EU


A swift election of a president to bring EU closer, urged French Ambassador Christian Thimonier during a visit to Kavadarci. “We will need a credible interlocutor, which is very important in this transition period. You need to choose and we will do our job. But we need a functional state. Therefore, give us that signal […]