According to a statement from the Slovak Presidency of the Council, the EU Council said on Tuesday 13 December that it would return to the issue of opening EU accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in due course, once sufficient progress has been made in implementing the Przino political reforms and the urgent priority reforms.
Stating that the Commission was ready to renew its recommendations on opening EU accession negotiations on these conditions, the member states call on the country's political parties to show political resolve to ensure the full, concrete and lasting implementation of the political agreement. The member states also say they are concerned at the continuing political crisis. "The country continues to suffer from a divisive political environment, polarisation and lack of culture of compromise, with backsliding in important areas such as the functioning of the judiciary, which should be allowed to function independently", the Presidency statement says.
According to the member states, the top priority of the new government must be to apply the reforms that are considered priorities, and to tackle the systemic problems of the rule of law. They note that, according to the OSCE, the elections of 11 December did indeed enable competition between the candidates, but that the elections took place "in an environment characterised by widespread public mistrust in institutions and the political establishment".
The member states again call for the discussions to be continued without delay on the controversial issue of the country's name. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)