Skopje, 12 January 2024 (MIA) - The fight against corruption is an ongoing battle that will not end when you join the EU, but must continue consistently, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski in Skopje on Friday.

“At our meeting with Prime Minister Kovachevski, he emphasized that corruption is everywhere and can happen in the European Union as well; it is not unique to a specific country or jurisdiction. However, I believe that such cases should be prosecuted because it sends a message to people that engaging in corrupt activities will not succeed,” Varadkar stressed.

According to him, as EU members, they should recognize the fact that corruption can occur in their country and in the EU as well.

Varadkar, in response to questions from reporters, reiterated strong support for the country's EU accession, emphasizing that this year will see a new composition of the European Parliament and the European Commission. He expressed a desire for the opening of negotiations to occur during the mandate of the next Commission and the next Parliament.

“I believe that it requires a lot of work here in North Macedonia, but it will also require cooperation and assistance from other European countries. I would like to see several countries join the EU during the mandate of the next Parliament and the next Commission. I believe that this will send a strong message to all countries in the region that taking steps on the European path will be rewarded. We cannot always say that something needs to be done to join the EU and then not allow that accession. I believe that is what happened with Ukraine, so the steps need to be expedited, and that requires acceleration from both sides, accelerated reforms in a country that wants to join, but also greater readiness from the EU to accept new member states, especially small members who do not have a large population, and I think it will not affect the budget and the system, which could happen with a larger enlargement,” Varadkar said.

Prime Minister Kovachevski agreed with his Irish counterpart that the fight against corruption is an ongoing battle that never stops.

“It always has two elements; first is identification. And the very fact that you emphasize that there is corruption means that it is visible and exposed. And the second element is the processing by the competent authorities responsible for ensuring that the committed act, which is unlawful, is processed, and those who are perpetrators of such an act are sanctioned according to the laws. Corruption is present everywhere. Corruption exists even within the European Parliament, where high-ranking officials were implicated in manipulating the selection of the host country for the World Cup. They were identified and prosecuted. Our system allows for independent prosecution of every identified perpetrator of a criminal offense, and that's why we have institutions responsible for justice that are not part of the government but independent judicial bodies,” Kovachevski said.