Skopje, 7 May 2025 (MIA) - The country should not be extorted in exchange for EU membership. You get a lot of advice, from your neighbors, from the international community, from the EU. Not all advice is smart or useful for you. You are the ones who decide what is important for you, just don't be a victim of some extortion when it comes to EU membership, said Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday.

"I don't intend to argue this, your neighbor Bulgaria has its own ideas how this should look like. The rules are simple, consensus and unanimity is needed. As long as someone is against, unfortunately Macedonia cannot make progress on that path. The only question is whether this is still the most important thing in the world for you and your citizens, or are there other aspects that can define the country as a successful story. I cannot offer advice for this, this is your decision," President Milanović told a joint press conference with counterpart Gordana Siljanovska Davkova.

He said the country should be supported, not treated as a special case.

"The country should never be treated as a special case, as a country with a fault, but a state that is currently experiencing certain problems because some do not agree with the things you stand for. This cannot change by force. The European law and the 'pacta sunt servanda' principle that the professor (Gordana Siljanovska Davkova) referred to is good to have in mind, but the EU mainly does not function in that way. Croatia has witnessed this firsthand. Nevertheless, the EU also has good things to show for, albeit not so much in recent years and months," said Milanović.

Photo: MIA