Brussels, 14 December 2021 (MIA) – European Union member-states have managed to reach compromise over the enlargement conclusions but the ambition to hold the first intergovernmental conferences with Skopje and Tirana has been left out, MIA reports from Brussels. Although the Slovenian Presidency had hoped to launch the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania by the end of the year, which was explicitly stated in the draft-conclusions, this timeline was dropped after today’s talks among European affairs ministers. The European Commission and the Council have expressed satisfaction from the compromise reached on enlargement, calling it “a masterpiece of European ability to make compromises in the spirit of loyal cooperation”, as EC Vice-President Vera Jourova put it. Nevertheless, the compromise does not involve the wording “by the end of this year”. Asked by MIA if Slovenia is disappointed from the failure to fulfill this ambition and is that a sign that the new Bulgarian government is not prepared for swift opening of the accession talks with North Macedonia, the Slovenian Presidency said it is satisfied from the compromise. “What counts is Council conclusions, we never compare with what we started, certain wording has been there for more than two months, but since negotiations on such documents are a lengthy process, I would definitely assess this day is a success,” said Slovenian State Secretary for European Affairs Gasper Dovzan. He added this is “a demonstration of the spirit of compromise and loyal cooperation of member-states.” “Some steps that were originally foreseen are not doable this year and that is the factual reason why ‘this year’ does not appear anymore in the conclusions,” added Dovzan. MIA also quizzed the Slovenian official why North Macedonia is treated differently from other countries through the use of the country’s long name Republic of North Macedonia in the text, while other states are referred to by their short names. “This is a separate question, the start of the negotiations requires a negotiating framework to be adopted. This is another process that will be launched as soon as possible since we have a new government in Bulgaria. We are very optimistic that it will be possible to continue along the set path as soon as possible,” noted Dovzan. The explicit reference that links North Macedonia’s enlargement process with the implementation of the Bulgaria Friendship Treaty has been removed from the final conclusions, but the reference is there in the negotiating framework, as explained by the diplomats with insight in the framework.