Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission
11.11.2022
Accession to the EU is regulated by Article 49 of the Treaty on the EU. In that context, decisions on the opening of accession negotiations are taken by unanimity by the democratically elected governments of Member States.
Following the March 2020 Council Conclusions[1] to open negotiations with North Macedonia, the Council approved by unanimity the Negotiating Framework for the negotiations with North Macedonia on 18 July 2022.
This decision allowed for the holding of the Intergovernmental Conference opening the accession negotiations process with North Macedonia on 19 July 2022. This was a well-deserved recognition of the commitment of North Macedonia to advance on its EU path and to implement EU related reforms.
The Commission immediately started the analytical review of the EU acquis (screening) process, which is the first step in the EU accession process.
This responds to the call by the European Parliament which had urged the Council to officially start accession negotiations with North Macedonia[2]. According to the last Standard Eurobarometer 97 from summer 2022[3], the average support to enlargement across the EU is 57%.