Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani has sent letters to counterparts in European Union member states, chairs of political groups within the European Parliament, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), MEPs who belong to the informal group of friends of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as other representatives of EU institutions, urging the start of North Macedonia’s accession talks with the EU at the upcoming European Council in June, by adopting the country’s negotiating framework and holding the first Intergovernmental Conference, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release Wednesday.
“2021 marks 20 years since the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between North Macedonia and the EU was signed, and 16 years since we received the status of a candidate country. The historic decision of March last year, for the EU to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia, was a result of important achievements in reforms and the brave decisions that the leadership and citizens of North Macedonia made as a confirmation of the strategic course we have chosen. The historic Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Treaty on Friendship with Bulgaria were the main triggers that opened the doors for the European future of North Macedonia, and at the same time provided encouragement for all Western Balkan countries,” Osmani noted.
Furthermore, the FM wrote: “The adoption of the negotiating framework and holding the first Intergovernmental Conference with North Macedonia have become a strong symbolic point, the focus of all our citizens and the whole region, elevating them to the level of a test for EU credibility in terms of the whole Western Balkans. Therefore, the start of this reform-focused, methodical and seemingly technical process will send a strong encouraging signal to our society and throughout the whole region, at the same time preserving the strict conditionality introduced with the new methodology, which brings about a greater political oversight by member states and reversibility of the process.”
North Macedonia’s top diplomat, the press release read, has a busy schedule, reflected not only through numerous visits to EU capitals, but also in other initiatives, using all opportunities to present our story.
“Osmani has a clear goal: for the European Council to finally materialize the decision to open negotiations by adopting the negotiating framework and holding the first Intergovernmental Conference. The letters complement Minister Osmani’s diplomatic offensive,” the press release stressed.
