Athens, 27 May 2024 (MIA) - I had some real issues with the Prespa Agreement, which was agreed by the previous government. But I respected it. And we’ve been trying to work with North Macedonia to help them on their European journey, but getting closer to Europe means respecting the European acquis and means making progress on issues regarding the rule of law, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in British podcast “The Rest is Politics”, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports.

In the podcast, Mitsotakis also spoke about the Western Balkans’ European perspective, noting that one of the things that will have to be done eventually in the next European cycle is the rethinking of the enlargement process.

“What does it mean to actually become a member? And what are those intermediary milestones that we can set for those countries in order for them to understand that as they make progress there will also be benefits. Because right now, we have to be honest, people in the Western Balkans don’t believe that they will be part of the European family, there’s a big problem,”  

At the same time, the Greek PM reiterated that Greece has been a big proponent of the EU perspective of the Western Balkans, because, he said, it is in its interest.

“The Thessaloniki Declaration of 2003, that was 21 years ago, for the first time mentioned the need to bring the Western Balkans closer to Europe, and we’ve not made enough progress. There’s a new momentum now, also as a result of Ukraine and we need to seize it, that’s why we need to reward the countries that actually make real progress,” Mitsotakis said. 

Photo: Office of the Greek PM