The European Union’s 27 members have agreed to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The decision came following the ‘historic’ vote in North Macedonia’s parliament at the weekend, which opened the way to the start to accession talks for both North Macedonia and Albania.

Today, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen issued a Press statement to mark the start of the accession negotiations process and of the screening of the EU acquis. Through this press statement, she addressed the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski.

On her address to the Prime Minister Kovachevski President von der Leyen stated as follows: “What a historic moment. Today, Albania and North Macedonia are opening the accession negotiations to the European Union, and I am so glad to be here with you. This is your success. It is your success and your citizens’ success. You and your citizens, you and your people have been working so hard to get here. You have shown so much enduring commitment to our values. You have demonstrated resilience. You maintained faith in the accession process. You strengthened the rule of law. You fought against corruption. You have free media. You have vibrant civil societies. You have done countless reforms and you have modernised your economies. You have made all these changes not just because they were necessary on your path towards the European Union, but above all because they are good for your countries. And they are already delivering a better quality of life for your people. We, the European Commission, have supported you all the way. And we will continue to do so. “

On her address to the Prime Minister Edi Rama President von der Leyen stated as follows: “Let me address you personally: You have shown so much leadership, so much vision. You have shown strategic patience, Edi, in abundance. And not only but importantly in these challenging times of Russia’s brutal war, you have proven time and again your attachment to European values, as true friends and true partners. And I want to personally thank you for that.”

On her address to the Prime Minister Petr Fiala President von der Leyen stated as follows: “Congratulations. Congratulations because the start of negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is a major deliverable right at the beginning of your Czech Presidency. It is building on the work of previous Presidencies. And I know that you will now play an important role to make sure that this process advances swiftly. The people of Albania and North Macedonia deserve it. And we will all stand to gain when one day we welcome Albania and North Macedonia as full-fledged members of our European Union.”

Albania and North Macedonia’s leaders are meeting today Prime Minister Fiala in Brussels to discuss the next steps on their path to the EU.