The Finnish Presidency is fully committed to the enlargement process and we expect to have a signal to the Western Balkans, what Europe is going to do regarding North Macedonia and Albania, because we have commitments, said Finland’s Foreign Minister Tytti Tuppurainen ahead of the General Affairs Council on Tuesday.

Enlargement is on the agenda and we as presidency are fully committed to the process and today we expect to have a signal to the Western Balkans, what Europe is going to do regarding North Macedonia and Albania. Europe has committments and we must respond to the Western Balkans region, the minister said.

Tuppurainen stressed that he did not want to predict the course of the talks, reiterating that the Finnish Presidency supported the enlargement, but added that the views of other member states must also be heard, as decisions are made by consensus.

Brexit is also on the agenda at today’s meeting in Luxembourg, and the Finnish minister stressed that they must be prepared for all possible scenarios.