Ludva: We started with finalized French proposal, up to us to do our homework
Skopje, 5 September 2022 (MIA) – Czech Ambassador to North Macedonia Jaroslav Ludva presented the program and priorities of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union before the Members of Parliament on Monday.
“The priorities of the presidency trio France, the Czech Republic and Sweden were set at the General Affairs Council in December 2021. We had a different scenario then. There was no energy crisis, and it was before the Russian aggression in Ukraine. At the time we were focused on protecting citizens, their freedoms and rights, building the European model, building green economy, social growth and promoting European values. Suddenly everything changed. We had to modify and expand our priorities,” the Czech Ambassador said. “We have two sets of priorities. The first are general, and the second are external within the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have four external priorities, and two of them mention the Western Balkans. We started with a finalized French proposal and it’s up to us to do our homework,” Ludva stressed. Presenting the priorities of the Czech Presidency before the MPs, he pointed out that the Czech Republic addresses urgent security issues. He also mentioned foreign affairs, including expansion of relations, promoting a unified and efficient European Union in its relations in correlation with high representatives for foreign and security policy, as a general priority which the Ambassador believes is included on every presidency’s list. “Strengthening partnership and relations with other countries, mainly the Western Balkans, Ukraine and the Eastern Partnership. Another priority which tops the list, which is the EU enlargement, by granting and achieving meaningful progress in the negotiations and supporting the enlargement process with the Western Balkan countries and finally, granting candidate status to Ukraine,” Ludva added. Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj also attended the session of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. In his address he pointed out that the French and the Czech presidencies are historically important. “The Czech Republic is a significant supporter of the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia, and it is during this period that we start the screening process and the negotiations. Continuous bilateral support, as well as that within the EU institutions, is of particular importance to us, and it is precisely in this direction that on September 8 I will have the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and celebrate our country’s Independence Day in Prague, together with Czech Minister of EU Affairs Bek,” said Marichikj. According to him, North Macedonia’s focus will be on energy efficiency, use of renewable energy sources and fulfilment of EU climate goals. Marichikj highlighted as key point the screening of legislation which, he noted, will finally allow discussion of essential elements related to negotiations with the EU, beyond bilateral issues. “The Parliament, and particularly the Committee on European Affairs and the National Council for European Integration will play a key role because we expect active involvement and support from the MPs, including the opposition, for what has been a strategic goal of the country for decades,” Marichikj added, urging the opposition to use the opportunity and activate the National Council for European Integration. VMRO-DPMNE MP Mile Lefkov pointed out that when discussing strategic and important decisions, it is necessary to include the opposition. “In this way, we see that the ruling party takes and promises obligations that cannot be fulfilled because they are not in accordance with the will of the people and are not in accordance with what the representatives of the citizens will say here in the Parliament. It is important to have a debate here in the Parliament because we have many problems, because we have no mutual respect,” Lefkov added. EU Ambassador Geer pointed out that the country has already fulfilled the requirements for opening the negotiations, so the next step that needs to be taken is to make progress towards the opening of the accession negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that now is the time for the country to deliver reforms, in order to move successfully towards joining the EU. MPs Slavica Tasevska, Halil Snopche, Fadilj Zendeli, Sonja Mirakovska and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova also participated in the debate. They made proposals and observations towards making progress in the country’s accession process in terms of achieving inclusiveness with the participation of both the ruling party and the opposition as a necessity in the process. Representatives and members of the National Council for European Integration, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and North Macedonia-EU joint parliamentary committee, as well as diplomatic corps and the media.
