EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi has not given up on his idea of ​​taking Albania forward to the first intergovernmental conference in June unless Skopje resolves its dispute with Sofia by then. At the conference organized by the Atlantic Council, Varhelyi explained his idea to move forward only with Albania in the negotiations if Sofia does not give up its veto on Skopje.

“We are working hard to find a solution for both Albania and North Macedonia. We are convinced that both of these countries have already met the conditions we have set for them to hold the first intergovernmental conference. You should keep in mind that there is still some time left until the end of June to achieve this goal. The Portuguese presidency of the EU also aims to bring this issue back to the decision-making table before the end of its six-month term,” Varhelyi said.

The idea of ​​the commissioner for the separation of the Tirana-Skopje couple was put aside for the moment by the foreign ministers in the two-day meeting at the beginning of the week, but Oliver Varhelyi is convinced that at the end of June they will be convinced of his version.

“If we want to be honest, Albania has met the same conditions as North Macedonia. I want to remind you of the time when two years ago the option was put on the table to separate these two countries and move forward only with North Macedonia, leaving Albania behind. So the same argument was used at the time in favor of Skopje to separate these two states. The issue that I have personally raised is that we need to have a result by June”, said the commissioner.

“If we go to the end of June without a solution to the bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia that are blocking the opening of negotiations, I am convinced that we will face the situation that inevitably we must divide Skopje and Tirana. This option is not far off in time to be discussed. I made this very clear to the foreign ministers as well,” he said.

A caretaker government is currently in power in Bulgaria, and another parliamentary election will be held on July 11th following the failure to form a new government following the April 4th elections. On May 18, the leaders of the Western Balkans will have a working dinner in Brussels, hosted by the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

/Klara Ruci/