Portugal will try to organize the first intergovernmental conferences with Macedonia and Albania in the first half of 2021, said Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, whose country took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU on January 1.

At an online press briefing, as reported by the Bulgarian National Radio, Silva stressed that the opening of accession talks with Skopje and Tirana is among the priorities of the Portugal’s EU Presidency.

He pointed out that the EU has so far delivered many requests to Macedonia. The country had to carry out a number of very important reforms and even change its name.

They did their job. Now is the time for us to do our job, said Santos Silva.

He announced that the Portuguese presidency through talks with both sides will seek to overcome the misunderstandings between Sofia and Skopje.