North Macedonia will hold its first intergovernmental conference with the EU on Tuesday, just three days after the country’s parliament, in the absence of the opposition, gave the green light to the French proposal for lifting the Bulgarian veto on the country’s EU accession progress. North Macedonia has been waiting for 17 years to start the accession talks, but its two neighbours, Greece and Bulgaria, have foiled its efforts. The vote will also enable Albania to start EU accession talks.