Skopje, 19 November 2024 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski reaffirmed that diplomatic efforts to unblock the country's European integration process continue, and he remains of the position that the only acceptable solution for the Government is constitutional amendments with delayed effect.

"I will reiterate, we are working on a daily basis with our allies. If we are not present there, it does not mean that we are not working. We talk to everyone on the phone. Absolutely everyone. No dilemmas here. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mucunski, is currently there, and we are the first country in the region, even as the most recently elected Government, to sign an agreement with the High Representative, Borrell, on security and defence partnership with the EU. We will be the first to receive the tranche of the Growth Plan, we were the first to finish everything that stood still for seven years, while there was only waving flags and robbing the country, that's gone now, and now we are the first again, and we will continue to be the first in the future. We have a clear principled position based on arguments. We have presented that position with arguments in front of all world authorities. European as well, everyone. There is no one who has not heard our position. And nowhere did we hear from them that those arguments are not good, or that those arguments are wrong, etc. We will work, it will not be easy. Unfortunately, for seven years the foreign policy consisted of exhibitionism and selling out, so that at home they could steal and destroy. They thought that they would get away with it, that everything will be forgiven at home, but the people don't forgive, and we saw that on May 8," Mickoski said when asked by a reporter to comment on the statement of the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, who addressed the EP on Monday on the progress of Western Balkan countries, while reiterating the condition that North Macedonia makes changes to the Constitution.

PM Mickoski announced that he will visit Brussels on two occasions in December, at the invitation of the new EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, on December 3, and at the EU and Western Balkans Summit, on December 18 or 19, where he will present the country's arguments again.

"And we will fight again. I don't know whether we'll succeed. You see what is happening with our eastern neighbour. The speaker cannot be elected for the third or fourth time. I'm not the one to guarantee, because it would be naive and irresponsible for us to give guarantees. But I can guarantee you that I will give my best, and we will fight to the last atom of energy that we have in order to succeed in doing something for the country," said Mickoski. 

Asked with which EU countries he has discussed on constitutional amendments with delayed effect, he mentioned a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Scholz, with French President Macron, with the EC President Ursula von der Leyen.

Photo: MIA archive