Skopje, 8 November 2021 (MIA) – Nils Schmid, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group's spokesperson for foreign affairs in the German Bundestag, has urged Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to reconsider his resignation while expecting close cooperation between the two parties and the possible new leader, Deutsche Welle reports. “Despite the compromises, primarily the country’s name change, he failed, not by his own fault, to make significant progress in the EU enlargement process. I personally wish that Zoran reconsiders his decision and at least stay on in the post of PM and our partner,” says Schmid. According to him, Zaev’s resignation will have repercussions on the EU enlargement process in the region. Asked if the EU and certain member-states are responsible for the standstill in the country’s European integration process and Zaev’s resignation, Schmid points to a couple of them. “Every country has its own legitimate issues related to domestic affairs. However, I hope that after next year’s presidential elections, the French policy will go back to the promises we gave the countries of the Western Balkans. Furthermore, I have no understanding for a country like Bulgaria, which has been blocking the start of the EU accession negotiations out of nationalistic grounds for two years now. They scored an own goal by doing this. This is a fatal signal of EU’s credibility in the region. Zoran Zaev put his political career in the service of EU accession and this was not properly rewarded by all. That is why they cannot be exempted from responsibility. In addition, it will be much harder to reach a solution through negotiations in the future,” says Schmid. He notes that Zaev’s resignation is bad news for the country’s reform efforts and the future of the European project as a whole. SPD won a close German federal election this September and is currently in government formation talks with The Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Olaf Scholz is SPD’s Chancellor candidate, with the new government expected to be formed before Christmas.