The Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Ana Paula Zacarias has confirmed that there are no opening of negotiations for Albania and North Macedonia. The Portuguese Minister said at the meeting of the General Affairs Council with the participation of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday that it was decided to postpone the date for the First Intergovernmental Conference.
The reason is the veto of Bulgaria against North Macedonia from which Albania also suffered.
Even with the Portuguese presidency in the EU, Albania failed to open negotiations and it is now expected to see what will happen in the Slovenian presidency which starts on July 1 this year.
“We started the day with enlargement talks. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, it was impossible to reach an agreement on maintaining the framework of negotiations and holding the First Intergovernmental Conference on Albania and Northo Macedonia,” said Zacarias.
“The European perspective of the Western Balkans is a vital part of the European Union,” Zacarias said.
All countries were in favor of opening negotiations for Albania, and even the most skeptical Netherlands gave ‘ok’ for holding the first intergovernmental roundtable.
Portuguese Secretary of State Ana Paula Zacarias expressed the hope that the Slovenian presidency could reach a date by deciding to divide the road between the two countries. / argumentum.al
