Presidents of Croatia, Austria and Slovenia, Zoran Milanovic, Alexander Van der Bellen and Borut Pahor respectively, held the eighth annual trilateral meeting at Slovenia’s Kostanjevica na Krki on Thursday, focusing on the Conference on the Future of Europe, recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the European perspective of the Western Balkans, primarily the Bulgarian blockade to Macedonia.

Pahor expressed hope that a compromise could be reached by the October summit, which would open the door to Macedonia’s EU membership talks.

We all understand the complexity of this process. Special emphasis is placed on the issue of a compromise that would be accepted by Macedonia and Bulgaria. This is one of the few measurable results of the Slovenian presidency. If we succeed, which will not be easy, then we can say that we have done a lot for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, because we will strengthen confidence in the credibility of the Union, which previously promised Macedonia that if it fulfills all conditions related to the Greek blockade, it will get the “green light” for the start of negotiations, said the Slovenian president.

The Croatian President stressed that impossible conditions should not be set for Macedonia, which interfere in the intimate space of the nation.