Skopje, 20 October 2023 (MIA) - We are living in a new geopolitical circumstance where the European integration gained urgency. Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, like no other crisis before, has raised the alarm that the EU must activate its enlargement policy and commit to redefining its role in the region, Deputy PM for European Affair Bojan Marichikj said Friday addressing the “Conference on Inter-parliamentary dialogue to further promote the European integration of the Western Balkans” held in Skopje.

According to him, it is clear that the war in Ukraine, the events in our region and in the Middle East reopen the question of the future of Europe, but also of the future of the Western Balkans, which, he said, is the target of external influences and propaganda, and therefore the focus on the European perspective for the countries of the Western Balkans must not be lost.

“The integration of the countries of the region together with the countries of the former Eastern partnership, namely Ukraine and Moldova, by 2030 is not only our goal and interest, but is a geostrategic issue of great importance for the region, for European peace, stability and security. This is the key to restore trust and popularity for the idea of the EU, which should always rule over nationalist ideas in our region and all over Europe. That idea should dominate with our engagement with the citizens, but also European integration as a process, because our accession to the EU in the length of its duration breaks records compared to the previous enlargement rounds,” Marichikj noted.

After 20 years since the Thessaloniki Summit and membership promises, today, he said, we are not where we wanted and should have been, but surely we are on the right track of achieving our goal. It is greatly important that the EU now does not only rhetorically promise the perspective of the Western Balkans in the EU, but offers a concrete plan for accelerated integration that makes the EU membership by 2030 real and tangible.

“In this direction, we expect the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to visit our region soon. All plans documents from our European partners in regard to North Macedonia’s EU accession and the rest of the countries in the region are very important to rapidly overcome the current challenges we are facing in this process and efficiently implement the reforms for Europeanisation of our society,” Marichikj said.

He commended the engagement of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which, he said, plays a crucial role in the European perspective of the Western Balkans through the strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation activities aimed at strengthening democratic resilience, institutional capacity, and the sustainability of reforms.

According to Marichikj, North Macedonia is progressing in the EU negotiations at the expected pace, the screening process is in its final phase, and we are intensively working on the strategic documents with the key priorities that should accelerate the reform process in the key areas precisely from the fundamentals cluster, with the aim of opening during the Spanish EU Presidency.

“The European integration is not only an option for the countries of the region, it is the best, most reasonable and only alternative for us. The revival of the EU integration process with a plan and specific tasks for membership until 2030 gives us a chance to achieve what we have been waiting for almost two decades, and that that chance will not be available to us indefinitely,” Marichikj added.

According to him, this and next year are crucial for the European perspective of our region.

“The region will move forward, and we want North Macedonia to keep pace with the others. We should be and we are obliged to be part of this success story that we will write together with the EU and other countries from the region. I believe there are no insurmountable obstacles. I strongly believe that the Parliament and the MPs will be up to the task and will conduct a constructive dialogue, with which we will quickly and efficiently fulfil our obligations and overcome challenges. It is in our interest and in the interest of the citizens to move forward and be united in the idea of a prosperous and integrated region in the EU,” Marichikj said.