Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held a meeting in Brussels with President of the Council of Europe (CE) Charles Michel. At the meeting, Zaev and Michel discussed the process for start of the EU accession negotiations between Skopje and Brussels, with both of them expressing hope that the efforts of the Portuguese presidency with the EU will result in start of this process without any further delays, and that Bulgaria will join the other 26 EU member-states in the consensus for adoption of the membership negotiations framework. The interlocutors also spoke about the Summit of EU and the Western Balkans that is to take place in October, under the auspices of the Slovenian presidency with the EU in the second half of 2021, which is expected to be a mutual investment for bringing the EU and this region closer together. Zaev and Michel also discussed the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, and agreed to proceed cooperation in which EU would provide more assistance to the Western Balkans to better deal with the consequences from the pandemic.