President of Slovakia: The European Union is jeopardizing the trust of the people in North Macedonia
Bratislava/Skopje – According to the statement of the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, the European Union is jeopardizing the trust of the people in North Macedonia by conditioning the acceptance of their country into the community with new requirements. He stated this on Tuesday after a meeting with the President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, in Skopje. According to him, the integration into the EU must not be misused to settle “international accounts or political disputes,” reports the special correspondent of TASR from Skopje.
“The European Union is playing with the trust of the people in this region, and if it does not demonstrate its viability, that the enlargement process is still alive and well, it will make a huge mistake,” declared Peter Pellegrini. He added that countries like North Macedonia have the potential in the coming years to “intensively negotiate one chapter after another” and adopt the necessary reforms to meet the entry criteria.
Slovakia firmly stands by North Macedonia and plans to support it in the integration process
He argued that the security of the Union also depends on its enlargement. He emphasized that Slovakia firmly stands by North Macedonia and plans to support it in the integration process “in all possible ways.” He clarified that Slovakia supports the integration efforts of the Balkan country financially – through UNDP development projects, as well as through the expert participation of its diplomats and sectoral specialists in advisory teams during the accession negotiations with the EU.
One of the tools of cooperation is also the strengthening of economic ties. During the visit, the State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Economy Vladimír Šimoňák signed a memorandum on economic cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of North Macedonia Timčo Mucunský.
According to the President of the Slovak Republic, the accession process to the EU must be based solely on meeting established criteria. “No country should misuse it just to resolve some of its own issues and thus keep your country hostage or as a pawn in these disputes by imposing more and more conditions,” he pointed out.
He firmly believes that the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will send a “clear signal” during her visit to Skopje on Wednesday (October 15) that the EU stands behind the integration process of North Macedonia. “I believe that she will give you a clear perspective tomorrow of where your wonderful country belongs, because we are convinced that it belongs to the family of European Union countries,” he said.
Gordana Siljanovska-Davková also reminded that the EU enlargement process should be based exclusively on meeting the agreed criteria. She believes that the steps taken by North Macedonia are “fully harmonized with the requirements of the Union.”
The two-day official visit of the Slovak president to North Macedonia follows his recent trips to the countries of the Western Balkans. Their main goal is to support the candidate countries in the region in their integration into the EU. The president also paid tribute to the memory of the significant Macedonian revolutionary and freedom fighter Goce Delčev during a commemorative act. He also met with the Prime Minister of the host country Christijan Mickoski and the Speaker of Parliament Afrim Gashi. (October 14)
