"There are real chances of Macedonia receiving a date for start of the negotiations for membership with the European Union this fall. But this depends on the results achieved in the next two months," EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn stated at the press conference with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in Skopje on Thursday. He said that he is impressed by the quality of the reforms related to visa liberalization, noting that the list of conditions that have to be fulfilled for start of the negotiations for membership is shortening.

At the meeting with President Gjorge Ivanov, Rehn stressed that the list of benchmarks would not be expanded and that the name issue is not among these benchmarks. President Ivanov expressed gratitude to the EU commissioner for his personal contribution to Macedonia's accession to the European Union.