Skopje, 10 April 2025 (MIA) - The accession process should be an objective and merit-based process. The Republic of North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005, and I believe the proper place for North Macedonia should be already within the European Union. I hope that the pending bilateral issues will be resolved as soon as possible and if there is anything Hungary can do to facilitate this process we are of course at the disposal of the parties, Hungary’s Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka told journalists Thursday in Skopje.

Quizzed about London’s warning that leaving the Western Balkans outside the EU could lead to a destabilization of the region, Bóka said both the United Kingdom and the EU have an interest in a stable region.

“I believe that both the European Union and the United Kingdom have a stable Western Balkans as a strategic interest, and I believe this is a shared interest of all interlocutors. I believe the European Union has been doing its utmost to work for the stability of the region. And Hungary as a member state of the EU, also during our presidency, we worked to relaunch the integration process of the Western Balkans and reinforce the European perspective of the region which will be the best guarantor of stability,” Bóka said.

The Hungarian Minister said Hungary fully and unconditionally supports the country’s European integration process.

Deputy Minister of European Affairs Viktorija Trajkov noted that since the beginning of its term, the Government has stressed the European path as its sole and primary goal.

“This means that we support anything that could aid the country’s Euro-integration process. This was also the case with the diplomatic offensive we launched, which is still ongoing and will continue in the future. This is something we’ve been discussing for a long time, but also the good neighborly relations which are our top priority,” Trajkov said.

Minister Bóka attended Thursday a discussion titled “How to make Europe great again?” in Skopje, alongside former Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Vasko Naumovski and Ambassador Marjan Gjorchev.

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