Prime Minister Zoran Zaev yesterday held an annual meeting with the heads of EU member states’ missions to the country where he informed the diplomats about the activities under way as part of the country’s process to join the EU.

Zaev gave an in-depth presentation of ongoing reform processes, especially in the field of judiciary, fight against corruption, and public administration reforms, the government said Wednesday in a press release.

The ambassadors from EU member states, led by the Head of the EU Delegation in Skopje, David Geer, showed particular interest in the open issues with Bulgaria, said the press release.

“The ambassadors of the EU member states were particularly interested in the activities conducted to solve the open issues with the Republic of Bulgaria, which prevented a consensus being reached in Brussels over the negotiating framework with North Macedonia. At the meeting, it was stressed that the process should resume as soon as possible and conclude with the opening of negotiations with the EU,” the government said.

It’s crucial, PM Zaev said, given that there is no alternative to EU, to resume the dialogue with Bulgaria in the spirit of mutual respect and in implementing the Friendship Treaty through intersectoral cooperation.

“At the same time, we are strongly determined regarding certain issues, which are red lines, including Macedonian identity and Macedonian language. They are not up for debate,” he stressed.

Moreover, PM Zaev welcomed the support expressed involving the EU enlargement process by the Portuguese Ambassador, Virginia Pina, noting that the Portuguese EU presidency’s position was key in terms that the opening of negotiation with North Macedonia was one of the priorities and that Portugal would do its best to allow the first intergovernmental conference with the country to take place in mid-2021.

Also, PM Zaev shared his expectations from the extensive Economic and Investment Plan of the European Commission for the Western Balkans, estimated at EUR 9 billion, for investments in transportation, energy, green and digital transition, for creating sustainable growth and jobs in a bid to boost the country’s economic growth in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.

At the annual meeting with the EU ambassadors, the PM expressed gratitude for Brussels’ support to include the Western Balkan countries in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and said he expected the procedure would be accelerated in the spirit of solidarity in handling of the pandemic.

“The undivided support of the ambassadors from EU member states for North Macedonia’s clear perspective as EU member expressed at the meeting is the strongest motivation for our reforms to implement European values at home,” PM Zaev told the annual meeting, said the press release.