Negotiate directly and provide a palpable proof that you are making progress, if you want EU support in December, Brussels says. The Swedish Chairman of the Council of the EU, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, told Deutsche Welle on Tuesday that Skopje and Athens were expected to negotiate directly so that swift progress could be made. Diplomats in Brussels say that Macedonia could be set a date for starting accession talks in December provided it is demonstrated that the talks are producing concrete results, Dnevnik reports.

“Only in this way can countries, such as France or Germany, back Macedonia and insist on opening talks. However, there has to be evidence that the talks are making progress and will yield results in a foreseeable future,” a diplomat from an influential EU member state said.

He also added that the EU ambassadors would begin discussing this in Brussels next week.