This is what Macedonian Prime Minister Christian Mickoski said today on the occasion of Kos' hearing in the European Parliament.
"She is looking over her calls from this point of view and so am I. I am convinced that in the next period, through common decisions, finally, after 2.5 decades, Macedonia's path towards full EU membership will be wide open and will be assessed on the basis of achievements, not on bilateral issues. I am confident that we will succeed", said Mickoski.
The leader of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party is optimistic because of "all the meetings with world leaders realised in the last almost five months."
BGNES recalls that Slovenia's Marta Kos, who was chosen by Ursula Von der Leyen for the post of enlargement commissioner and endorsed by the EP, stressed that the continuation of Skopje's European integration process depends on the constitutional changes the country has committed to.
In the hearing before MEPs on 7 November, she said that if her choice for the position is confirmed, she would focus on supporting all candidates to progress on the path to the EU, but also that she would expect these countries to respect European values.
"I expect North Macedonia to change the constitution as promised, nothing more and nothing less", Kos was adamant.
The European Commission's annual report on North Macedonia on the enlargement issue explicitly states that the government of Christian Mickoski must respect the treaties with Bulgaria and Greece - the Friendship and Neighbourhood Treaty (August 1, 2017 with Bulgaria) and the Prespa Agreement (June 2018 with Greece).
Albania has already started formal negotiations for membership in the bloc after being separated from North Macedonia. The two countries were supposed to open the first negotiating cluster together, but this did not take place due to the refusal of the regime of Christian Mickoski to fulfil its obligations under the Negotiating Framework.
Marta Kos, who succeeds Hungarian Oliver Varhei, is a former Slovenian ambassador to Germany and Switzerland. She was deputy chair of the liberal Freedom Movement led by Prime Minister Robert Golob. In 2022, she ran for president of Slovenia, but later withdrew from the campaign. | BGNES
