Slovenian State Secretary Gašper Dovžan said, on Tuesday 23 November, that he hoped that by the end of Slovenia’s EU Council Presidency it would be possible to find solutions to move the enlargement process forward. A process which, according to him, has “broad support” among the Member States.
Bulgaria is still blocking the official opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia.
“This process must be a virtuous circle and we hope that all bilateral issues will find constructive solutions”, he added after the General Affairs Council of the EU, recalling that his country has also had to settle bilateral disputes. “We still hope to achieve success and we will do our best”, he promised. The minister said that the “credibility of the EU and the whole enlargement process” was at stake.
For his part, Commissioner Didier Reynders said that the Commission supported the formal opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia and substantial intergovernmental conferences with Serbia and Montenegro”.
Asked about Serbia, Mr Dovžan said that many ministers had highlighted progress, but that for some, Belgrade needed to do more in order to open clusters of chapters in the EU accession negotiations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)