Skopje, 17 January 2025 (MIA) - The enlargement of the European Union with the Western Balkan countries will remain a priority for the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the chargé d'affaires at the Polish Embassy in North Macedonia, Mariusz Brymora, said in an interview for 360 Stepeni.  

Brymora said Poland hasn’t given up on the Balkans as part of its priorities, and stressed that it will continue and strengthen activities aimed at accelerating the region’s EU accession.

“Last December, Prime Minister [Donald] Tusk, during his visit to Serbia, said EU enlargement will be the focus of our attention during the Presidency. We will call on the new High Representative [for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] Kaja Kallas, to hold an EU-Western Balkans ministerial meeting in order to maintain interest in cooperation with the region, to assess progress in enlargement and achieve progress in the normalization between Serbia and Kosovo,” Brymora stressed.

Regarding the “deadlock” in relation to the country’s Euro-integrations, Brymora stressed it is a bilateral issue that should be solved by the countries involved, adding that the other EU countries can support any solution that is aimed at achieving a compromise.

“But it is up to you to start talking and work out a compromise. Additionally, for me, and I am talking on the basis of Polish experiences, there’s one more factor which is extremely important – that is the reconciliation process. I personally think you should start working on a reconciliation process with the Bulgarian people, because, as far as I know, this issue that is now blocking the progress in the EU enlargement is a part of a much wider and much longer historical dispute. Poles know it very well from our experience with the Polish-German reconciliation progress and we are ready to share our experience,” Brymora said.

The Polish diplomat noted that reconciliation is a long process that takes time, adding that the main task of the Government in Skopje is to start talking and reach a conclusion acceptable for both countries as soon as possible.

“That doesn’t mean we will not help. As far as I know, our Deputy Foreign Minister responsible for the European policy is planning a visit to Sofia next month, and I am sure he will take the occasion to talk and encourage Bulgarian partners to also think about bilateral talks to achieve the compromise that we need,” he said.

Regarding the proposal about a delayed implementation of the constitutional amendments, Brymora said he has seen some government allies insist it is possible but noted that there are no signs that Brussels or Bulgaria will change their position.

“I am not sure if this proposition can be effective. The new Commissioner [for Enlargement] of the EU, Marta Kos, as you may have heard, declared that she would expect North Macedonia to accept and introduce the changes to the Constitution. It is all connected with the old Latin principle of international law that we must remember which reads ‘pacta sunt servanda’ and means agreements must be kept,” Brymora said.

He stressed the need to make use of the enlargement momentum before it is gone.

“We started this conversation talking about certain challenges that lie ahead of Europe today, starting from the war that is at our border and to all different crises that we have to face. That may result in the question of EU accession by your country being put to the margin. And if you add to this certain unpredictability of the upcoming new American administration which may turn the focus of the EU to other issues like the Panama Canal control or the unsatisfactory Ukrainian peace project, then it may turn out that the priorities of the European Union will change and the momentum may be gone. If I were your advisor, which I am not and it is just my personal opinion, I would like your Government to weigh all the cons and pros and see what they should do to make sure that they would get the most profit for the people of North Macedonia,” Brymora told 360 Stepeni.

Photo: 360 Stepeni