Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski expressed optimism Saturday that Macedonia’s EU integration process can be accelerated, referring to the bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the day before in the Montenegrin coastal city of Tivat on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit.
He stressed that, despite new initiatives from the European Union and messages from some neighboring countries, the Government remains committed to not supporting constitutional changes without prior concrete guarantees from the EU to protect the Macedonian identity.
Responding to reporters’ questions, Mickoski stressed that these meetings gave him a broader insight into the Union’s future steps towards the region, indicating that he is familiar with the directions of the new European approach to the Western Balkans.
According to the Macedonian PM, the new plan of France and Germany envisages mechanisms that enable progress for the countries in the region, even without changes to existing European agreements.
“The level of relations between the Western Balkans and the European Union is at a much higher level, many more mechanisms and tools are opening up for us that we will use in this period,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that in informal talks with European partners it was concluded that North Macedonia is among the most active countries in implementing the reforms envisaged by the Growth Plan.
Mickoski, however, did not reveal details of the bilateral meetings, emphasizing that the content of the diplomatic talks remains confidential.
