Skopje, 2 December 2021 (MIA) – Slovenian Ambassador Milan Predan said Thursday there’s still optimism that the EU leaders will approve the opening of negotiations with North Macedonia in December, which might be formalized in January if Bulgaria formed a government by then. Speaking at a panel organized by the American College University in Skopje, Predan said that Slovenia’s EU presidency echoes the same sentiment as many EU countries that North Macedonia and Albanian shouldn’t be decoupled as it might send bad message throughout the region. “I hope Skopje and Sofia will reach a compromise on bilateral issues and in the coming days, expert groups will meet for a new dialogue,” said the Slovenian Ambassador noting it would be a success for Slovenia’s EU presidency if North Macedonia were approved to start negotiating with the EU. In addition to the Slovenian Ambassador to North Macedonia, representing the current EU presidency holder, ambassadors from the Visegrad Group (V4) - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - also took part in the panel titled “The future of Europe – a view from EU candidate country,” organized by the Hungarian V4 presidency and the American College University. Presenting Hungary’s view, Hungarian Ambassador Laszlo Dux said the EU is as strong as its members. Hungary, he said, believes that enlargement is one of the EU’s most vital policies. “We want North Macedonia to become full-fledged member of the EU. Hungary also believes that the EU will benefit more from the enlargement than the countries joining the bloc, which is why we are championing the agenda to remain one of the EU’s top priorities,” he stated. The Czech Republic, which will take over the EU presidency in July 2022, is already defining its priorities, including enlargement, said the country’s Ambassador Miroslav Toman. “The Czech Republic believes the EU is incomplete without the countries in the Western Balkans and we’ve been very vocal in all EU summits regarding the opening of negotiations with North Macedonia. I would like the Czech Republic’s presidency of the EU next year to focus on something else other than the holding of the first intergovernmental conference, we want it to take place as soon as possible,” he stressed. Speaking at the panel, Slovak Ambassador Henrik Markus said that time will tell whether the new revised methodology would prove efficient. “We believe that a decision to open the negotiations with Skopje and Tirana should have been taken in October 2019. It was a mistake not to and now we’re seeing the consequences,” Markus said calling on Skopje and Tirana to accelerate the implementation of reforms. Poland, said its Ambassador Wojciech Tyciński, strongly supports EU enlargement since the region is key for the future of Europe and North Macedonia should join the EU without any further conditions.