Slovenia formally took over the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union on Thursday. To mark the occasion, Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa hosted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. They both confirmed that they are working on a formal start of negotiations with Macedonia and Albania in the next six months, MIA’s correspondent reported from Brussels. 

Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa said enlargement was a strategic goal of the European Union and as such he expected dilemmas to be resolved and an agreement to be reached between the 27 EU member states during his country’s presidency.

EC President von der Layen laso confirmed that efforts would be made by the European Commission to achieve this goal as well.

We are committed to making progress in the enlargement process through the formal opening of accession talks with Albania and Macedonia, and I welcome the organization of the summit with the Western Balkans, she said.

The summit is set to be held in Slovenia on October 6.