Strasbourg, 19 October 2021 (MIA) – European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said Tuesday at the press conference on the reports for Western Balkan countries that he expects a ‘green light’ for start of negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania by the end of the year, MIA reports from Brussels. Asked what he’s basing his optimism on, Várhelyi said that he’s “engaging with both countries, North Macedonia and Bulgaria.” “I’ve met the leadership of both countries and hope that on that basis we should be able to find a solution and convince the Council to give a green light and have the first intergovernmental conferences this year,” he added. The Commissioner also responded to a question from MIA’s correspondent on why he called Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev his ‘secret aide’ in overcoming the dispute between Skopje and Sofia, earlier on Tuesday. “What I mean is that of course I’m working with MEPs because they can be very helpful in passing political messages between political actors and I hope that these messages will help get to a solution,” Várhelyi  said. He also reiterated that Albania and North Macedonia shouldn’t be decoupled, despite having a different position in May, when he told Euronews that if the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria isn’t resolved, there’s a possibility for Albania alone to start talks. “It’s clear that the two countries have reached all the criteria and conditions that need to be met for opening the first IGC and therefore we need to still work together. As I also said in the AFET, this is the very strong political will of a large majority of our member states and therefore we want to succeed this year,” the Enlargement Commissioner said Tuesday.