Skopje, 31 August 2022 (MIA) – The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, Michael Roth, at Wednesday’s meeting with Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi emphasized that his visit is in support of the next steps that Parliament should undertake to ensure the smooth running of the EU accession negotiations. According to Parliament’s press release, Roth expressed his complete understanding of the frustrations and disappointments caused by current events and emphasized that the EU does not have the right to interfere in the linguistic and cultural identity of the Macedonians, which must be respected. “Regarding the upcoming constitutional changes leading to the next stage of EU accession talks, he expressed his view that the undertaken obligations should be fulfilled and that this will not be to the detriment of any Macedonian in the country, and Germany will stand firmly behind the implementation of the EU’s promises in order to speed up the EU integration which is not only for the benefit of the region, but also for the benefit of all EU member states,” said Parliament in the press release. Speaker Xhaferi welcomed Roth’s visit at a time when the country is set to begin its screening process as the first phase of the beginning of EU accession negotiations, after a long period of delays and blockades in the past decades. Xhaferi informed the German MP about the country’s NATO contribution and obligations, support for EU’s sanctions on Russia and the support and aid offered to Ukraine. He especially expressed his gratitude for Germany’s continued support of North Macedonia in achieving its strategic goals, and at the same time he expressed his gratitude for the excellent economic and bilateral cooperation between the two countries and the ties with the diaspora, which together contribute to further improvement of the relations between the two countries. In that context, he particularly emphasized the cooperation with the German Bundestag on independent parliamentary security as one of the segments ensuring the independence of Parliament. According to the press release, Roth conveyed the gratitude of the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, for Speaker Xhaferi’s efforts to build bridges in a time of polarization, economic challenges and military aggression, and that no one benefits from the weakening of democracy, because that it is to the detriment of the citizens who have achieved a lot in the past few years. ad/ba/