N. Macedonia expects to learn date for EU accession talks within weeks

North Macedonia expects that a date for the start of EU accession talks will finally be fixed in October, it said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told Reuters that a start to accession talks would help persuade young people there not to emigrate and seek a “European style of life” elsewhere.

The former Yugoslav republic changed its name from Macedonia to North Macedonia this year, ending a more than two-decade dispute with Greece over use of the name.

The European Commission formally recommended in May that North Macedonia should start negotiations to join the EU. The country had hoped to get the date to start accession talks in June. However, the Commission postponed the decision for October.

“If there is no proper realization of this opportunity this essentially means that there is no perspective for the region,” Dimitrov said.