Skopje, 31 August 2022 (MIA) — The European Union needs to have a stronger presence in North Macedonia and the country needs to adopt the proposed constitutional changes so it can steadily move forward in its accession negotiations with the EU, said Michael Roth, German lawmaker and Chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, during his official visit to Skopje on Wednesday. Roth said he was glad to be in the country again to show his support in times of crisis, when he said he could feel the people’s frustration and disillusionment with the EU. “It is our duty, as EU and German politicians, to encourage the Macedonian men and women to take the next step toward the EU and to know it is really worth it,” Roth told the press after his meeting with President Stevo Pendarovski. The Bundestag Foreign Committee chairman said North Macedonia had invested a lot into its EU membership goal. Now, he noted, the Union needed to strengthen its presence in the country, heighten its visibility, intensify its engagement, and provide better prospects as well as more jobs for young people so they would know the country's efforts were not in vain. The EU, Roth pointed out, is not only a common market and a community sharing a single currency but a community of cultural and linguistic diversity. “No one has the right to meddle in people’s cultural identity. No agreement will ever change this basic principle on which the EU was founded,” Roth said. He also said he hoped North Macedonia’s Members of Parliament would make it possible for the country to press on in its EU accession talks. “I know these constitutional changes are not easy for many, but everyone should ask themselves not ‘How can I help my party?’ but ‘How can I help and contribute to my country?’“ the German MP said. He urged the country's political leaders to continue strengthening democracy, fighting against corruption and nepotism, and creating jobs. Roth also said the EU should restore the trust it had lost and fulfill its promises. The bloc should take concrete steps to support the country at the economic and political level during these times of crisis “because we are all under threat, we are all in the same boat,” he said. “Now we need to show solidarity, first of all, with the Western Balkans, and especially with the people of North Macedonia,” he added. The German lawmaker said he would also meet with representatives of the opposition and of civil society to hear what they had to say. Their frustration was understandable, ”but now we have to ask ourselves what we can do in this difficult and dramatic situation for the country and for the people,” he stressed. Roth said he hoped the constitutional changes would pass so the country could speed up its EU membership talks – as accelerating the process was key, he said. “No one should expect that things would be better a year or two from now. The country has already done a lot in this regard, so there is actually not much left to do,” Roth pointed out. Earlier in the day, the German politician met with President Stevo Pendarovski, Europe Minister Bojan Marichikj, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, and Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs chair Antonijo Miloshoski. Prior to chairing the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Roth was Germany’s Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office. mr/