Skopje, 22 June 2023 (MIA) - On the 20th anniversary of the Thessaloniki Summit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will promote the 'More Integration, Before Membership' imitative for citizens to get the chance to feel the benefits of the EU accession process even before the membership itself, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani on Thursday.

"We have three solid models - visa liberalization, transport and energy community - which show that we can be a part of European policies even before we become EU members. Our initiative does not only offer an alternative, because the Summit's message is that no one in the region accepts an alternative to the EU membership process," Osmani told a press conference.

According to him, North Macedonia has the opportunity to seriously enter a fast track for EU membership, where citizens will be able to see the benefits from EU accession directly in their pockets and in the quality of life.

"Both the society and the country will feel the benefits, along with those from visa liberalization. We plan to slowly enter the EU, even before the formal membership becomes official, and enjoy all benefits from the process. I think this is the plan that we are trying to impose in the region and in communication with the EU, and already the initial feedback from Brussels is positive," Osmani pointed out.

Minister Osmani said the reasons for the disappointment among citizens lied in EU's dilemma in relation to the enlargement process, the bilateralization process by some countries and the unsuitable reform dynamic within the Western Balkan countries. Still, there have been some benefits in the energy field, the allotted funds for democratization and strengthening institutions for the rule of law and democratic processes, and over 45 percent of alignment with the European legislation.

"That has significantly changes citizens' quality of life, has changed the quality of how society and institutions function, and this is the benefit of the 20-year process, accession process in the EU which we have recently begun. Then integration into the EU market, mobility, the Erasmus+ programme...," added Osmani.

Nevertheless, he said, the European integration process continues and the awareness of it is greater than ever before, and the benefits, and weaknesses, will be addressed through the initiative.

"The end goal is membership, but still there must be phased integration which means integrating into EU's policies, funds, and markets as we meet criteria, and not only feel the benefits once we become a member-state. I believe this will lead to credibility to the process itself, and we will keep the citizens' interest, because credibility currently suffers across the whole region. We see how the numbers fall as interest for the idea itself falls, and I think that this day, this observance is a good opportunity to promote the accession process, and send a message to citizens that we have an opportunity to not repeat the same mistake from 20 years ago. We cannot do without the EU," stressed Osmani. ssh/ik/