The main purpose of the visit was to give strong support to North Macedonia’s European aspirations and to an early launch of its accession negotiations with the EU.

As part of the two-day visit (3-4 March), the ministers met North Macedonia’s top officials: President Stevo Pendarovski, Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov. The politicians discussed the state of North Macedonia’s progress on its path to European integration, particularly in the context of the European Commission’s communication on the EU enlargement methodology that was published at the beginning of February 2020. ‘We appreciate the great efforts of North Macedonian authorities to carry out reforms, and we also welcome the historic agreement that North Macedonia and Greece have reached to regulate the state’s name,’ underlined Minister Jacek Czaputowicz during the meetings. The chief of Polish diplomacy also stressed that he hopes the EU will soon decide to start accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.

Another important point of discussion was preparations for the EU-Western Balkans summit which will be held in Zagreb in May this year. In this context, the head of Polish diplomacy reminded that last year’s Western Balkans summit in Poznan, organised within the framework of Poland’s presidency of the Berlin Process, was a clear sign of support for the European prospects for the region. This year, North Macedonia and Bulgaria jointly chair the activities implemented under the Berlin Process.

The minister highlighted that Poland backs the European aspirations of the Western Balkans not only  out of a sense of ethical obligation which arises from our own experience of joining the EU. Our support also springs from the profound conviction that the EU enlargement policy is the best instrument to ensure stability, security and wellbeing both within the Western Balkans and the whole EU.

In the context of currently finalised accession procedure of North Macedonia to NATO, the talks confirmed the key role the North Atlantic Treaty plays in the security architecture of Europe, including the Western Balkans region.

The ministers participating in the visit also took part in a debate with students at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University on the future of European integration and EU enlargement policy.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA