Skopje, 20 September 2022 (MIA) – The fulfillment of the Copenhagen economic criteria will be among the main political priorities during the EU accession negotiations, Deputy PM for European Affairs and chief negotiator Bojan Marichikj told an explanatory briefing in Brussels on Tuesday. “Considering the importance of the Fundamentals cluster for the pace of the entire negotiating process, it is clear that economic criteria will be among the key areas that will determine the general pace of the negotiations,” Deputy PM Marichikj told the meeting. According to him, the formal integration of economic criteria in the Fundamentals cluster only highlights the importance of economic management and the need for its strengthening, in order to avoid the risk of the country having macro-economic imbalance upon joining the EU. The new EU enlargement methodology adopted in 2020 puts economic criteria on the forefront of the accession process. The Fundamentals cluster also includes functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform, the Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release.