After the first round of talks between EU member states on opening accession negotiations with Macedonia and Albania, the Finnish Presidency officially proposed decoupling negotiations with the two countries, diplomatic sources in Luxembourg told MIA.

Three EU member states conformed the information to MIA, but French diplomatic sources claim it is highly unlikely that France will accept the proposal.

After the first round of talks, which began at around eleven o’clock, each of the EU member states presented their views, with no change compared to previous days.

France strongly opposes starting negotiations with any country, while several member states have a “bigger problem with Albania” than with Macedonia.

To overcome this impasse, the Finnish presidency before the lunch break began proposed to separate the two countries.