The European Union has launched membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia - a long-delayed step towards joining the bloc.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warmly congratulated prime ministers Edi Rama of Albania and Dimitar Kovacevski of Macedonia.
"This is what your citizens have been waiting for for so long and have been working for so hard, and this is what they deserve," she said.
Over the weekend, North Macedonia's government announced it had reached a compromise with Bulgaria in a long-running dispute that had served as an effective roadblock to the onset of talks for EU membership.
It has been a 17-year journey for the nation, sapping many in the country of any enthusiasm for joining the bloc, according to North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski.
The president was among a chorus of political leaders who backed the recent French-mediated deal that paved the way for ending the deadlock with Bulgaria over historic grievances, which calls for constitutional changes among other measures.
The agreement was the latest in a long line of bureaucratic hurdles and political compromises for North Macedonia since it became a formal candidate to join the EU in 2005.
"From the standpoint of the procedure and the way that many in Europe - especially Bulgaria in the past two years - are treating us, it's a clear humiliation," Mr Pendarovski said during a recent interview in the capital Skopje.
In recent weeks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the EU should begin accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania to finally fulfil its pledge to integrate the western Balkans.
Mr Scholz said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine made it important for Europe to stand together and he praised North Macedonia's support of sanctions on the Kremlin.
Last month, European Union leaders formally granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status to become members of the bloc, during their two-day summit in Brussels.
At that point, they agreed to offer Georgia a "European perspective", but said it must carry out a raft of steps before it can become a candidate.
