Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held a meeting in Brussels on Monday with President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, at which Zaev asked for more active participation of the EC in processes for unblocking the start of the accession talks between official Brussels and Skopje. “The Macedonian identity is a matter of facts, science, but also tradition, pride and self-determination, and us such cannot and should not be subject of negotiations. We are guided by European values in this process, and that includes the protection of our own identity. We fulfilled all criteria, and now it is EU’s turn to act,” Zaev told Von der Leyen, who in return said that EC will contribute with greater dedication and engagements, because as she said, this process is very important, but reiterated that Skopje cannot start the accession talks until the bilateral disputes with Bulgaria are resolved. In Brussels, Zaev also held meetings with EC Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, European parliament President David Sassoli and Portuguese Foreign Affairs Minister Augusto Santos Silva