U jesen prošle godine, evropski povjerenik za proširenje zapazio je kako je Makedonija ostvarila napredak ka ispunjenju osam kopenhagenskih kriterija koji se moraju ispuniti da bi mogli započeti pregovori, ali je naglasio da "deveti kriterij" - slobodni i pravični izbori -- tek treba biti ispunjen.
Last fall, EU Enlargement Commissioner noted that Macedonia has made progress towards meeting the eight Copenhagen criteria that have to be fulfilled before membership talks can start, but he noted that the "ninth criterion" -- free and fair elections -- has yet to be met.