Strasbourg, 26 November 2024 (MIA) - There is no room for bilateral blackmail in the current geopolitical circumstances, Croatian Member of the European Parliament Karlo Ressler, who chairs the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, told journalists on Tuesday.  

“Today, in these circumstances in which the EU functions after three years of a bloody Russian aggression on Ukraine, after the energy and economic crises, the architecture of the security framework of all Europe has been changed due to the war and dramatically different political circumstances. It is clear that the consequences of this aren’t only felt in the member states, but also in the Western Balkan region. In that context, North Macedonia, and all other countries from the Western Balkans must make use of all the opportunities and potentials that are opening for them due to this situation, and this is above all an awareness that EU accession is not and cannot be any strictly legal or administrative task, but it is much more than that, and it includes a very significant geopolitical dimension,” Ressler told journalists.

The MEP stressed that North Macedonia, as well as the other Western Balkan countries, must also carry out important domestic tasks in the fields of politics, rule of law and the economy, noting that these steps must be taken in order to be ready for EU membership.

Just as Germany was a “sponsor” of Croatia’s EU accession, and now Italy is to Albania, Ressler said he believes Croatia could be the country that will be able to push North Macedonia's EU accession forward.

“Regardless of what the situation was like during Croatia’s accession to the EU, it is clear that Croatia is a country that is friendly towards North Macedonia, and a country that could perhaps understand best the frustration and difficulties that arise from basically 20 years of various blockades, various political misunderstandings or clashes and that it can be, as it is currently with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, one of the EU member states that will strive for reason, but it will also work towards the realization that North Macedonia’s accession is in the interest of the entire EU and not only in the interest of Southeast Europe or Croatia,” Ressler said.

Ressler said he is aware that there are other bilateral issues that disrupt North Macedonia’s path to the EU but stressed that they will do everything to deepen understanding through parliamentary diplomacy.

“Today, in the current geopolitical circumstances there is simply no room for such bilateral blackmail, and we must do everything we can to ensure North Macedonia takes the right, concrete step, but also that the European Union realizes that the issue of enlargement has a significant geopolitical dimension,” Kessler stressed.

Asked about how the dispute with Bulgaria could be solved, Kessler said this is a situation that has existed for several years and disrupts the relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, as well as having an impact on the country’s path to the EU.

“What is important to be done and what we will try to do from our position as a delegation on relations with North Macedonia is to relax the situation, to try to talk to all our colleagues, because in the end it is clear that I can’t offer a solution to bilateral issues which are obviously there and obviously encumber the bilateral relations, but we must work together to reach a solution through open and constructive dialogue, and in that context, the European institutions, especially the European Parliament must be and will be useful,” the MEP said.

However, Ressler added that the differences that exist between the two countries will not be bridged with a magical solution.

“It is clear that this issue is bilateral and must be resolved between the two countries, between member state Bulgaria and candidate member North Macedonia. Based on some previous experiences, including from Croatia’s EU accession, the Union can be a facilitator of such dialogue, but it is also clear that through a parliamentary dimension we can try to achieve some relaxation of these relations,” Ressler said. 

Photo/Video: MIA