Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani finally spoke out after the emergency summit in Berlin and the ever clearer threat from Bulgaria that it will veto Macedonia from opening EU accession talks. Osmani expressed regret about the developments.

I wish that our neighbors are the engine and not the brake for our integration process and that we can together enjoy the benefits of political, economic and societal transformation of the region. And I wish our European friends will recognize the momentum and not miss out an opportunity to end the year as well as it began, Osmani said during a video conference on the Balkans. He is referring to the decision of the European Council to approve the opening of EU accession talks with Macedonia and Albania at the start of the year – a decision that was left without an actual date.

Macedonia and Albania now hope to open the accession talks by the end of the year, but Bulgaria seem set to block Macedonia and the Netherlands – Albania.