"Today, Albania and North Macedonia are opening the accession negotiations to the EU, and I am so glad to be here with you, this is your success and your citizens' success," von der Leyen said at a press conference at the start of the accession negotiations process and the screening of the EU acquis.
Von der Leyen added that the European Commission and the negotiations teams from Albania and North Macedonia would start to work together immediately after an intergovernmental conference, which would take place the same day.
According to the official, the screening of the EU acquis is about to start, which will mark the first step in the accession process of Albania and North Macedonia.
The screening of the acquis is the examination of a candidate country's legislation to see how it is aligned with EU law.
North Macedonia received the EU candidate status in 2005, while Albania obtained the same in 2014, five years after applying for membership. The leaders of the EU states approved a decision to start negotiations with the two countries on joining the bloc in March 2020, but Sofia blocked the process over a dispute with North Macedonia, referring to violation of rights of the ethnic Bulgarian minority.
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen addresses European lawmakers during a plenary session on the inauguration of the new President of the United States and the current political situation, at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
© AP Photo / Francisco Seco
On Saturday, lawmakers of the ruling coalition in North Macedonia, led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia party, supported France's proposal for an agreement with Bulgaria in order to start negotiations on joining the EU.
Mass protests over the proposal were later held in Skopje and other cities of the country for 11 days. According to the opposition and protesters, the agreed document violated the national, cultural, and historical rights and interests of the Macedonians.