Skopje, 7 September 2022 (MIA) – President Stevo Pendarovski revealed Wednesday that North Macedonia is officially seeking support from the EU in dealing with the energy crisis. “Like we did with vaccines, during Covid, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we will ask the EU for a similar approach regarding the energy crisis. We are talking about an unprecedented crisis. This country is highly dependent on the import of fuels and it would mean a lot to us, but also to everyone in the region, if the EU were to allocate aid for the Western Balkans from its emergency funds,” said Pendarovski at a joint press conference with the President of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová. According to the President, when it comes to energy, as a country which has begun its EU negotiations, we have a greater right to expect aid even though we are not members of the Union yet. Čaputová reminded that Brussels allocated funds for North Macedonia during the transition process and the EU has a special type of aid for the country. In particular, regarding the energy crisis, the Slovak President agreed that it is the biggest issue at this moment and various approaches for diversification should be sought, but increasing energy efficiency should also be considered, as well as maximizing the use of renewable energy sources. “Each country is forced to seek new solutions. We too are almost entirely dependent on Russia when it comes to energy resources, but we are seeking alternatives and it is going well,” said Čaputová. ad/ba/