Skopje, 15 December 2023 (MIA) – The process of constitutional amendments kicked off in Parliament, and I am convinced that North Macedonia has the political strength and people with vision who will adopt that decision, and we will become a member state of the European Union in 2030. This is my very clear position, said Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski in answer to a journalist’s question Friday over the messages from Brussels and the draft-conclusions of the European Council.

The PM said the Council’s draft conclusions were “crystal clear”.

“And they state that North Macedonia successfully concluded the screening process, which was noted in the European Commission, and after it implements the amendments to the Constitution, the second intergovernmental conference will immediately be held in order to begin opening chapters in the negotiations. And our country has never had such a clear conclusion from the EU before,” said Kovachevski.

The Prime Minister said it is evident that a repeat of Bucharest in 2008 happened in Brussels, adding that “the same political party is blocking North Macedonia’s Euro-integration processes once again”.

“For four years now they’ve had an approach of blockade, in their words they have an active blockade on everything, and I would say it is a temporary blockade because our country will become an EU member state, just as it became a NATO member state. And everything you will hear these days is only a distraction from the fact that the blockade of North Macedonia’s Euro-integration process has a name – VMRO-DPMNE. Anything else is just a distraction,” said Kovachevski.

Asked about the EU’s decision to open negotiations with Ukraine, Kovachevski said North Macedonia supports the decision on Ukraine and Moldova.

“As a country we welcome that, because we believe that all democratic states should be a part of the EU,” said Kovachevski.

Photo: MIA Archive