Although the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) obtained the European Commission's recommendation on Tuesday 17 April for the opening of European Union accession negotiations, the road to the EU is still long.
Having gone to Skopje to deliver the Commission's report in person, European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that it was important to implement the reforms that have been adopted. "The positive momentum must continue, especially on the improvement of judicial independence", he said at a press conference in Skopje with the country's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
This request was repeated a little later in the day by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, who was also in the country.
Zaev gave assurances that his country was "even more energetic" to conduct the reforms successfully so that the EU Council might be able to set a date in June for the opening of accession negotiations.
This date may seem ambitious because the dispute between FYROM and Greece over the country's definitive name might not be settled by this date. Hahn said it was possible "in the near future" for a "fair" solution to be found on the issue of the name, and he mentioned both countries' "strong commitment". Mogherini said the time remaining until June could be "used positively".
Whatever the Council's decision in June, there is no denying that the country has made enormous progress over the last year with coming out of its political crisis, Mogherini and Hahn noted.
European Council President Donald Tusk furthermore announced on Wednesday 18 April that he would visit the Western Balkans next week to prepare the summit in Sofia on 17 May. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)