Skopje, 17 June 2025 (MIA) — The European Union's enlargement policy is of strategic importance for the EU's future and its relevance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski said in his keynote address at the Budapest Global Dialogue taking place in the capital of Hungary on June 16-18.

According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade press release, Mucunski stressed the need of a proactive and cohesive European policy amid global instability and geopolitical challenges.

He said that safeguarding the security and prosperity of the European continent required a stronger and more coordinated EU. He also said that the Western Balkan countries were an integral part of the European security and economic architecture.

In his remarks, the Macedonian foreign minister also spoke about the compromises the nation had done on the EU path, pointing out that national identity red lines would not be crossed.

"Our language, identity and cultural and historical continuity cannot be subject to negotiations. They are the soul of our nation," Mucunski said, adding that the country was committed to its European integration just as much as "to the defense of our dignity and our right to be who we are."

He said this was not out of stubbornness but out of self-respect, adding that its European future needed to be built on the basis of mutual recognition and trust instead of on historical erasures and imposed narratives, the release said.

Organized by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and Observer Research Foundation, the Budapest Global Dialogue aims to promote cooperation and shape perspectives on global issues. mr/