The country is on the right track and should continue with implementation of the already enacted laws and mechanisms, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Wednesday at the joint press conference with European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, who is paying a visit to Skopje.
“As Prime Minister, together with the ministers, we review the recommendations of the EC to examine our action plans and strategies from the first cluster of the negotiation chapter dedicated to fundamental values,” Zaev said.
Zaev pointed out that the EC Report notes that the country has achieved a high level of compliance with the European legislation in many areas and recommends the implementation and delivery of even greater results.
Zaev underlined that the two documents which were presented on Tuesday by the European Commission, are a contribution to creating a strong political moment for another step on the European agenda of our country.
“EC Report is published in an exclusively important period of reaffirmation of the European steps and the programme of the new government and is an excellent tool for precisely defining the priorities and sectoral plans in the coming period,” Zaev noted.
Especially important is the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, for which, as he said, Commissioner Várhelyi has greatly contributed to it.
The package, Zaev added, is of great importance for the private sector, energy projects and transport and rail links in the region and is a real motivation for the region to deliver even better results in the period ahead.
“We are thankful that many important projects for North Macedonia will be supported and funded under this plan. I once again extend my gratitude to the European Union for the selfless assistance provided to us during the COVID-19 crisis, that is still ongoing. Yesterday, we received EUR 80 million into the budget of our country and other EUR 80 million will come in the period ahead of us. EU solidarity is the impetus for our future work,” Zaev said.
The European Commission unveiled Tuesday two extremely important documents for North Macedonia’s European agenda: this year’s enlargement package which includes the 2020 Report on the country’s EU accession process, as well as the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
