Skopje, 13 October 2023 (MIA) — The next step in the country's European integration depends on the adoption of constitutional changes, which is a sovereign decision of the country but the EU hopes they can be adopted swiftly so the country can ride on the current enlargement momentum and move forward decisively on its European path, EU Ambassador David Geer told reporters during his visit to the Municipality of Shuto Orizari on Friday.

"Concerning the constitutional changes, as you know, these emerged out of the bilateral agreement with Bulgaria, but were part of the agreement that was reached in July 2022," EU Ambassador Geer said.

"And this provided the opportunity for North Macedonia to move forward decisively on its European path through the opening of accession negotiations, the screening of which has been a part of.

"The next step in the process does, indeed, rely on the adoption of the constitutional changes," he said, pointing out that this decision was "in the hands of the country itself, in the hands of the Parliament and nobody else."

"Of course, that is a sovereign decision that is for the country to take but once the decision is taken, then you would move to the next step, with no other decisions being taken on the EU side automatically," Geer said in response to a question about the stalled process of consitutional amendments and what would happen at the EU Summit in December, where key decisions are expected regarding to the Western Balkans.

The EU ambassador said the Russian aggression in Ukraine produced "an extraordinary new momentum in the area of enlargement providing opportunities for countries to move forward to the EU very rapidly."

"So I very much hope that it will be posible to move forward on these constitutional changes because I believe that the place of this country is in the EU and we want to see you join us as quickly as possible while implementing all the reforms which are necessary to be a full member of the EU," he said.

Asked about his opinion on President Stevo Pendarovski's statement that the constitutional amendments might be better resolved in the next Parliament, Geer declined to comment. "We would like to see these changes made as soon as possible so that the country can ride on this momentum and move forward decisively on its European path," he said.

On the country's holding presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time at the request of the opposition bloc, the ambassador said this was entirely for the political parties to discuss and for the government to call elections after an agreement was reached across the board.

Asked about the screening process, Geer praised the government's efforts.

"I must compliment the engagement and the work that was taken on the screening process by the government. It has been very good and as we come towards the end of it I think it has been a very positive exercise," he said.

Regarding the EU's peer review of the Judicial Council, Geer said their report and recommendations were forthcoming but that it was too early to give any details. He said the meetings with all stakeholders were productive and transparent, so the EU had a clear idea about the situation.

This was the ninth in the series of the EU Delegation's town hall visits following the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia in July 2022. The purpose of the visits is to present the new steps in the EU accession negotiations process and their impact on citizens’ everyday life.

During his stay in Shuto Orizari, Ambassador Geer met with the Mayor of Shuto Orizari Kurto Dudush, the members of the Municipal Council and representatives of the civil society organizations. He also visited one of the houses renovated under the EU-funded "Enhancing Sustainable Urban Development of Roma Communities" project. mr/