Skopje, 13 March 2026 (MIA) - President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova received Friday participants in a regional conference of Austrian Ambassadors from Southeast Europe, hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in the country and Ambassador Martin Pamer. According to the President's Office, all ambassadors openly supported the Macedonian path towards the European Union, highlighting that the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries as well as finding solutions to speed up integration is in the focus of the regional conference.

Siljanovska Davkova noted that the delegation, led by Ambassador Elisabeth Kornfeind, Director-General for Europe and Economic Affairs at the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, is proof of synchronized and active diplomacy, which is important for the region's European perspective.

"She pointed out that Austria is not only one of the largest economic investors in the country, but it is also our strong political friend and a vocal supporter of EU enlargement and the Macedonian European integration process," the President's Office said in a press release.

The President reaffirmed the position that integration must be based exclusively on the Copenhagen criteria and on merits, and bilateral issues should not be an instrument for blocking this process. 

All Austrian ambassadors, reads the press release, openly supported the Macedonian path towards the EU, highlighting that the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries as well as finding solutions to speed up integration is in the focus of the regional conference. 

"They share the President's view that regional cooperation and access are key to European integration. Participants in the meeting agreed that amid the current geopolitical context, EU enlargement is a security imperative, and called for respect for the rule of law, international agreements and meritocracy," the press release adds. 

In addition, interlocutors expressed readiness to further deepen Macedonian-Austrian relations towards a common European future.

Photo: President's Office