President of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Sergei Stanishev, has written to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, to urge him to put the issue of accession talks with the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania on the agenda of tomorrow’s European Council meeting, PES states in a press release.

“Please allow me to insist on the need for a final effort – a last chance to find agreement between all European leaders on this issue. Given its importance for the strategic, economic and security interests of the EU, we believe that our Heads of State or Government should be presented with the opportunity to further deliberate the matter in person”, Stanishev wrote.

He also underlined to roles of Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev of Macedonia and Edi Rama of Albania in moving forward along the difficult path of reform in both countries.

“I fear that failing to deliver now would not only undermine the EU’s credibility, but also jeopardise the Enlargement policy and derail the European integration process of the Western Balkan countries for the time to come. We must not fail. We owe this not only to the peoples of the Western Balkans countries, but also to all EU citizens, who expect decisive action and responsible leadership, and not just ‘signals’”, concluded Stanishev.