The June 5 elections are Macedonia's best way back on the EU agenda and the start of accession talks, agreed Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn at the sidelines of Thursday's Western Balkans ministerial meeting on Durres, Albania.

FM Poposki also met with French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir, who twitted afterwards that Paris supports the implementation of the Przino Agreement as a key element in Macedonia's approximation to the EU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

In addition, Poposki met with counterparts from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, Igor Crnadak and Ditmir Bushati respectively, Italy's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Vincenzo Amendola, and Regional Cooperation Council secretary-general Goran Svilanovic.

The Durres meeting, which included foreign ministers of six Balkan states and the Czech Republic as the Visegrad Group chair-country, along with Commissioner Hahn, focused on the Paris conference scheduled on 4 July.

In the meeting address, FM Poposki said integration among Balkan states should go hand in hand with EU integration.

"We should integrate as a region in parallel with the EU integration process. The construction of better roads and energy networks must be accompanied by facilitated business in the area and barrier-free travel in the region. One should not have illusions that the EU will be as generous in funding infrastructure in our countries as it was in other countries that have already joined the Union. Today we have the opportunity to work on the integration among the countries on the path to the EU and the ones already in the Union. These are specific issues that pave the way to the future EU membership", said Poposki.

The Durres event tackled the status of projects on regional networking from the 2015 Vienna conference, as part of the Berlin process for high-level political support to the future EU accession of Balkan countries.

The meeting also produced conclusions on establishment of a youth regional office and mobility projects of students and state administration employees among regional states, reads the press release.