Skopje, 20 June 2023 (MIA) - Commenting on the initiative that former president Branko Crvenkovski presented on Monday, for the Western Balkans to gain access to the European single market and funds, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said Tuesday that the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has also announced the possibility of greater access for EU candidate countries to European funds, not as a substitute for membership, but with the aim of improving their performance and capacities. 

The PM noted that all neighboring countries that are EU members receive 11 times more assistance per capita from European funds than the candidate countries.

"We point out at every meeting with the EU that this should be changed, because in this way the gap between the candidate countries and the EU member states will be reduced," Kovachevski added.

As regards yesterday's statement by Crvenkovski, who said that he finds "rather illogical and unsupported the statements — regardless of where and who they come from — that if we started negotiations now, we would become a full member in four, five or seven years. Or that the war in Ukraine has created a new momentum that would accelerate the enlargement process", Kovachevski said that views depend on the perspective of looking at things.

"There were pessimists who thought that we would never join NATO, but we joined NATO. There were people who were pessimistic that we would never get a Negotiating Framework – but we got a Negotiating Framework. There were people who said that the signing of the Frontex agreement in clear Macedonian language would never happen, but it happened, so it is important to stay true to the goal that the citizens want, which is EU membership, and work towards achieving it," said the PM.

According to Kovachevski, from the perspective of the time when Crvenkovski held the offices of president and prime minister of the country, it was practically incomprehensible that an agreement could be reached with Greece and that the country would become a NATO member, but from today's perspective we see that it was possible to reach an agreement and to join the Alliance.

"Also, no one expected that last year we would get a Negotiating Framework, after 17 years of waiting, but at the end of the day, together with the MPs and with 27 EU countries, we adopted a Negotiating Framework. So, I believe that we can join the EU by 2030 if we make the decisions that are expected of us. In that regard, there is already support and an open window from the EU," said Kovachevski.