Bratislava, 31 May 2023 (MIA) – The constitutional amendments are one of the tasks and decisions we need to make on our path to full-fledged EU membership, which is why I am saying that the vote in Parliament is practically a vote for Europe, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski told MIA on Wednesday after his meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, held on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC 2023 Forum in Bratislava.

“We’ve given ourselves a deadline until 2030 for full-fledged EU membership, we will carry out a series of other reforms as well that require a two-third majority in Parliament, such as reforms in the economic sector, judiciary, education and many other sectors, which will move our society forward so that we can be on the level of the EU member states when we join the EU,” stressed Kovachevski.

The PM assessed his meeting with von der Leyen as exceptionally important and productive.

“At the meeting she clearly stated she is committed to North Macedonia’s EU integration, by confirming that she is a President of the EC which sticks to her position and tasks undertaken by the EC with the negotiating framework – that the Macedonian language is already official in the EU through the signing of the Frontex Agreement, which she, herself, attended. An Agreement approved by all EU member states and an Agreement which positions the Macedonian language next to all other EU languages,” Kovachevski told MIA.

Kovachevski said with they also discussed the upcoming decision of the Macedonian Parliament regarding the constitutional amendments, and informed the EC President on the procedure which has already begun.

“We agreed that this is a process that should end based on the obligations of the negotiating framework, and it is practically one of the steps for the realization of our second strategic objective – EU membership, which is unequivocally support by the EC President, by EU, and of course the United States, our strategic partners,” said Kovachevski, stressing that the EU and the U.S. share the position that North Macedonia should become a member of the Union.

At the forum, PM Kovachevski will also hold a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, which will focus on the importance of North Macedonia’s EU membership.

Kovachevski said he is honored to participate in the GLOBSEC Forum, which is one of the largest European forums on security and foreign policy, especially at a time of great challenges for the European continent and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I participate in the panel dedicated to the Western Balkans’ EU integration, together with the Albanian PM, Rama, during which we really spoke openly about all the challenges we face, as well as other things we have done concerning reforms in all Western Balkan countries, but especially in North Macedonia and Albania, because it is clear that these are two countries, which, I would say, are a step ahead of the other countries. We are both NATO member states, together with Montenegro, and we have both began our EU accession talks,” said Kovachevski.

The second key topic, said Kovachevski, is economic development and reducing the gaps which exist between the EU member states from Southeast Europe and the countries of the Western Balkans, where, there are discussion on how to increase investments in the region, and funds provided by the EU for reforms, as well as in the field of infrastructure construction in the Western Balkan countries.

Photo: MIA