Skopje, 20 December 2024 (MIA) - Leave bilateral issues and emotions aside, let's talk about bilateral cooperation that produces tangible results and progress, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski on Friday.

"I do not get counter-arguments from my interlocutors, because saying '27 have to decide' is not a counter-argument. I am ready to talk about a plan that will take us to the end, because we are not the same as other candidates, since we have been part of this process for 25 years, candidates for almost 20 years, and no country has had bilateral agreements included in the Negotiating Framework thus far," PM Mickoski told reporters.

He added that no country has ever had to change the flag, the banknotes, the name, and "this creates frustration among the citizens".

"A speaker from a powerful country said clearly during the working dinner this is not a process of chapters and clusters, that is the formal aspect. But let's be real, if it hadn't been for the political courage, such a big enlargement would not have happened in 2004. No EU member-state is aligned with the clusters and chapters by every word. Everything is down to political will and courage. If someone there decided to sacrifice the process to bilateral issues then ok, but let's cooperate bilaterally, so that we have an added value," said Mickoski.

The PM told officials in Brussels that discussions should focus on education, economy, tourism, know-how transfer, since this can produce expected results.

"Yes, we can talk about identity issues or something that had happened in the Middle Ages, but how can there be a measurable result if there is no one to say what happened back then. If you talk about bilateral issues, then emotion sets in, and when there is emotion, a rational solution cannot emerge," said Mickoski.

Asked if a meeting took place with Bulgarian caretaker PM Dimitar Glavchev during his visit to Brussels, Mickoski said they had a brief encounter after the working session.

"While going out, he told me that I had an excellent speech and noted that this is the way to build bilateral relations. I responded, 'let's lift the ramp in the near future so that we can start the negotiations, to which he said, 'you know that everyone is against you in the Parliament'. This was our conversation, i.e. the few sentences that we exchanged," said Mickoski while adding that he held Glavchev in high regard.

Photo: MIA