Ludva: Cultural activities should facilitate and not aggravate ties
Skopje, 1 November 2022 (MIA) - Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Ludva said Tuesday in Strumica that cultural activities should facilitate mutual ties, not make them more tense, underscoring that good neighbourly cooperation is necessary for EU membership.
In answer to a question how North Macedonia will advance towards the EU with all the conditions from Bulgaria, Ludva said that the Czech Republic's position is that bilateral issues should not be part of the EU negotiation process.
“We clearly said that in December 2020. You should look at the French proposal, bilateral agreements are not part of the negotiating framework,” Ludva said.
According to Ludva, good neighborly relations in the region are very important, and that is why, as he said, they decided to organize a series of conferences to strengthen the dialogue between North Macedonia and Bulgaria within the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU.
“The first conference in Sofia focused on exchanging experiences. The next conference in Skopje was mostly focused on the benefits of the common market. Now here in the border area, yesterday in Petrich and today in Strumica, we are focusing on real cross-border dialogue and cooperation, as well as the benefits of future EU membership,” Ludva said.
Asked if there is a better understanding between Macedonian and Bulgarian intellectuals after the tripartite forums for mutual understanding organized by the Czech Embassy, Ludva said that he is a realist, and that things cannot be changed in just a few weeks.
“It is our intention to help as much as possible. We know very well that regional cooperation is the first step towards the European Union. A good example of that is the cooperation of our four countries within the Visegrad Group. Good regional cooperation is the first step towards the EU. By doing so, you show that you are ready to cooperate within a larger regional group,” Ludva noted.
