Nikola Dimitrov

Former prime minister and leader of leftist SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, was awarded the Nikos Nikiforidis Peace Prize on Tuesday for the Prespa Agreement that was reached in 2018 between Greece and the then Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), resolving a long-standing dispute between the two countries./p>

The former foreign minister of North Macedonia and one of the signatories of the name deal with Greece in 2018, Nikola Dimitrov is cautiously optimistic that the Prespa Agreement will survive the recent shift in the political landscape in Skopje.

Geopolitics, security and diplomacy will be some of the main issues discussed at this year's Delphi Economic Forum (DEF) scheduled to take place from April 10 to April.

Talks will focus on the developments in Ukraine and in the Middle East as well as on the Western Balkans EU course, the transatlantic relations and others.

The situation in some parts of the Western Balkans is volatile and problematic in the rest.

Yet, despite overwhelming support for Ukraine in its fight for survival against Russian aggression, many of the 27 member states are leery of diminishing the accession process just to make a symbolic gesture to a country in need.

Less than a week before the June 22 EU Council opens, North Macedonia's leaders are travelling to neighbouring Bulgaria to explore a possible breakthrough in their dispute that would prompt Sofia to lift its blockade on the start of Skopje's EU accession talks.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, will pay a visit to Sofia before June 20th. This is what Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and PM Zaev agreed in Brussels.

Germany's Minister for Europe, Michael Roth, said on a visit to Skopje that there is a chance of a breakthrough between Bulgaria and North Macedonia that would allow the start of North Macedonia's much-delayed EU accession talks on June 22 in the EU Council.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will meet today at EU Headquarters in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President David Sassoli, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, EC Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and with EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhei.

A firmer stance from Brussels - noticeably missing last week - against a controversial document proposing border changes in the Western Balkans would help calm the growing anxieties in the region, analysts said. At the same time, regional and international actors contacted by EURACTIV firmly rejected ideas from the phantom non-paper.