Enlargement Package: Varhelyi Says Skopje has Fulfilled Conditions

North Macedonia and Albania have delivered on reforms and fulfilled the conditions for the opening of talks. That was the message sent by EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at Tuesday’s press conference on the 2021 Enlargement Package in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Pending bilateral issues between North Macedonia and Bulgaria therefore need to be solved as a matter of urgency. Both countries have delivered on reforms and fulfilled the conditions for the opening of talks. It is therefore now crucial that our Member States in the Council adopt the negotiating frameworks so that the first intergovernmental conferences are held as soon as possible, hopefully still this year. This is essential for EU’s credibility,” he pointed out. However, the Commissioner also said Skopje still had work to do, particularly with regards to fighting corruption, as well as in relation to administration and judicial reform.