Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki held talks Monday in Brussels with Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Commissioner responsible for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis.

Poposki extended gratitude to Georgieva on the last month European Commission's recommendation for opening of Macedonia's EU accession talks. He briefed the Commissioner on Macedonia's activities to get prepared for those talks and underlined the need for their swift commencing, as recommended by the EC three times in a row, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

Poposki reaffirmed Macedonia's commitment to finding a solution to the bilateral dispute with Greece, saying that EU should consider the common, European interest when reviewing this matter. He also stressed that Greece's current difficulties, which do not contribute to productivity of the name negotiations, should be also taken into consideration.

In terms of the spheres under Commissioner Georgieva's authority, Poposki reported on Macedonia's forthcoming activities related to humanitarian aid and participation in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. In this respect, Georgieva welcomed the announcement that the final summit in July of 2013 of the the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) under Macedonia's Presidency would be dedicated to the Natural Disaster Risk Reduction. It will enjoy concrete EU support, Georgieva said.