Athens, 25 September 2024 (MIA) – If the European Union ends up lacking credibility over its pledge to the Western Balkans, for its neighbourhood, then it will have no credibility whatsoever as an international geopolitical power, former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras said in his speech after being presented with a peace award for the Prespa Agreement, reports MIA’s Athens correspondent.

In his speech, Tsipras touched on the significance of the Prespa Agreement, the necessity of the treaty being observed by the new government in North Macedonia and also the EU perspective of the region. He was awarded the Nikos Nikiforidis Peace Prize, established by the Observatory of International Organizations & Globalization.

The ex-prime minister said the Prespa Agreement “is of huge importance”, noting it shouldn’t be allowed to lose the momentum created for the European perspective of the region.

“As Zoran Zaev and I have said recently, it needs to be made clear that the only path not only for the European future, but also for the future of North Macedonia itself is the honouring of the Prespa Agreement by the country’s new political and state leaders,” said Tsipras. 

He called for the EU integration momentum of the region to be restored.

“We shouldn’t allow nationalism to further flourish in the region. We need to restore the momentum of European perspective, created by the Prespa Agreement, ending the period of stagnation in the region in 2018. The agreement is a model for settling of disputes in the Western Balkans, because it showed there is a way for mutually accepted solutions that safeguard national interests while also promoting peace. If the European Union ends up lacking credibility over its pledge to the Western Balkans, for its neighbourhood, then it will have no credibility whatsoever as an international geopolitical power,” Tsipras said in his speech. 

Photo: Alexis Tsipras' Facebook page