Former candidate for European Commission president and one of the most influential politicians in the EU, Manfred Weber, has asked Brussels even at the December summit to approve the start of negotiations with Macedonia.

The influential German parliamentarian urged during the parliamentary debate in Strasbourg the leaders of the EU national governments to correct the mistake by failing to set a date for negotiations with Macedonia and Albania last month, calling the October summit a “tragedy”.

It is unacceptable to run negotiations with Turkey on the one hand, and on the other hand, to tell Macedonia that it cannot be an EU member. What we’re doing is crazy, Weber said.