“The fact that the EU has shown the will, energy and power to make a decision to start membership negotiations with Macedonia and Albania in these difficult times is a very important signal for us,” Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told the Brussels-based POLITICO portal. “Once the coronavirus is behind us, we will have a European future ahead of us. It is a ray of light in this darkness that surrounds us,” Dimitrov stated, following Tuesday’s decision by the EU ministers that Macedonia should start membership negotiations without any additional conditions. Commenting on the decision by the European ministers, POLITICO says that it is “proof that the 27-member bloc can reach an agreement on a topic that has long caused division, even when Europe is in a state of crisis due to coronavirus“. “EU remains operational,” the portal quotes Croatian State Secretary for European Affairs Andreja Metelko Zgombic. POLITICO also quotes German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as saying that Tuesday’s decision showed Europe was keeping its promises. “Albania and Macedonia begin the next phase in their journey to the EU. This is a belated acknowledgment of their reform achievements. Stable and efficient democratic constitutional states from on Western Balkans is our strategic interest. And the orientation towards the European model of peace, freedom and prosperity remains the strongest factor of stability in our neighborhood,” says Maas. The portal states that now the European Commission should prepare a negotiating framework with the two countries, which should then be backed by EU member states, in order to be able to eventually hold intergovernmental conferences. POLITICO reminds that even though no preconditions are set for Macedonia’s negotiations start, Albania will have to meet additional conditions before being ready for the next steps in the negotiation process.