Strasbourg, 21 May 2023 (MIA) - The European Parliament has released a draft report by MEP and Rapporteur Ilhan Kyuchyuk, in motion for a European Parliament resolution on the 2022 Commission report on North Macedonia, welcoming the country's consistent commitment to EU integration and calling for calm, dignity and maturity in bilateral relations. 

The document mentions 2030 as a date when the country should meet the criteria for EU membership. 320 amendments have been tabled to the motion for a resolution, which will be discussed by the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs next week.

The document points out that enlargement is the most effective EU foreign policy instrument and is a geostrategic investment in long-term peace, whereas North Macedonia has established itself as a reliable partner and has delivered sustained reforms. It also welcomes North Macedonia’s consistent commitment to EU integration, which has been underpinned by steady progress on guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, while moving towards cross-cutting policy alignment. 

The European Parliament commends North Macedonia’s full alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, including its clear-cut response to the aggression against Ukraine by aligning with the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus. 

In addition, EP urges decision-makers to foster a national consensus on EU integration, building upon a successful start to the screening process, to work towards the ambitious goal of meeting the criteria for EU membership by 2030. 

Concern is expressed about the unjustified delays in the accession process, stressing the need to strengthen the process’s transparency, accountability and inclusiveness, including its parliamentary dimension. 

The document further commends North Macedonia’s well-established inter-community harmony and urges the country to sustain its long-standing commitment to multiculturalism and inclusion.

The motion notes North Macedonia’s commitment to positive diplomacy and good neighbourly relations, reiterating full support for a consistent mutual implementation of the Treaty of Friendship with Bulgaria and the Prespa Agreement with Greece. 

Warning is expressed against attempts to undermine peaceful inter-community and bilateral relations, deploring all internal and external actions that endanger stability and jeopardise regional reconciliation.

The European Parliament calls for calm, dignity and maturity in bilateral relations, urging regional partners to restore trust and cooperate with mutual respect and in the spirit of good neighbourliness.

Also, it invites policymakers and the societies of Bulgaria and North Macedonia to assume joint responsibility and to restore the positive agenda between the two countries in the spirit of the Treaty of Friendship, expressing support for continued diplomatic and societal dialogue to resolve bilateral grievances. 

In the document, EP notes that it supports efforts to reach an agreement on constitutional changes that would include additional communities in the preamble of North Macedonia’s constitution in good faith. 

As many as 320 amendments on 161 pages have been submitted to the ten-page report, which will be debated by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, in which the Bulgarian MEPs will try to insert their criticisms of North Macedonia.