Johannes Hahn

The European Commission has today recommended for the second time that the EU should start negotiations on the accession of northern Macedonia and Albania. 
     EU Neighborhood Commissioner Johannes Hahn noted that the negotiation process has so far been protracted and that it will not change.

The newly adopted enlargement report of the European Commission has recommended opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia - but has not set a date for them to start, which will be left for the European Council to decide in June.

North Macedonia should start membership negotiations to join the European Union, the European Commission formally recommended on Wednesday.

The recommendation followed a meeting of the Commission in Brussels, said Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner in change of enlargement on Twitter. EU governments must agree to allow talks to start.

Northern Macedonia expects to receive a green light from the European Commission on the date of launching negotiations with the EU, reported NOVA TV. 

The European Commission (EC) will recommend opening accession talks for full membership of northern Macedonia and Albania by the end of May, reiterated EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who until now has only expressed confidence that this will happen.

In Brussels on Monday, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis attended a meeting with representatives of the Eastern Partnership member states, advocating for strengthening this organisation.

European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn welcomed the election of Stevo Pendarovski as North Macedonia's new president, noting that EU accession talks for the Balkan country will begin in June.

Florian Bieber spoke for Vienna daily Kurier to say that "great" powers want to deal with the Western Balkans now.

The EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn told the German news agency DPA on Friday that the goal of the meeting should be ending the blockade of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

The Serbian foreign minister and first deputy PM told the daily Blic that Pristina - who last November introduced 100 percent taxes on goods from central Serbia, deadlocking the Kosovo dialogue - should make the first move.