Skopje, 24 January 2024 (MIA) – In an interview published on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told Euronews that Russia is using disinformation and fake news to stall the EU accession of the Western Balkan countries.

“Frustration over the delay in North Macedonia's EU accession is creating an opening for Russia to sow discord in the country through an ‘arsenal’ of hybrid warfare,” assessed Osmani who attended Tuesday the conference “Beyond Disinformation: Strengthening our societies against Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference” hosted by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in Brussels.

According to Osmani, Russia is using targeted disinformation campaigns – including online trolling and fake news, in order to, he said, “fracture the social fabric of society” in the country and the wider Western Balkans and stall their accession to the EU.

"Obviously Russia designed disinformation in order to keep North Macedonia from achieving its strategic goals, which is NATO and EU membership," Osmani said.

He added that the frustration built up along the way to EU membership is being hijacked by malign forces “trying to channel this energy of frustration into their windmill”.

The Foreign Minister stressed that the only response is for the country to continue with its agenda for Euro-Atlantic integration.

Osmani told Euronews that he backs Brussels’ new approach of “phased” integration, including the EUR 6 billion growth plan for 2024-2027 designed to open the bloc's common market to the Western Balkan candidates and expected to boost their economies by as much as 10 percent.

"We have realized that the default concept of EU accession is all in or nothing. The road is long, the journey is difficult, and people and the candidates do not see any benefits from the road itself," Osmani explained, adding that what the country wants to see is gradual integration of the region into the single market before membership, and integration into the formal formats of the European Union before integration itself.

This, according to the Foreign Minister, could mean giving Western Balkan nations observer status at EU ministerial meetings, such as the Foreign Affairs Council, an idea which, he said, his EU counterparts are supportive of.

At Tuesday’s conference in Brussels, Osmani said the political landscape in North Macedonia has never been as polarized as it is ahead of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, creating two camps – pro-European and anti-European front.

“For the first time the most fundamental test is being put to our citizens – whether the EU ticket will remain the winning ticket in the Western Balkans, in elections,” said Osmani, adding that at a time when the main difference between the offers of the political parties is “EU or other alternatives”, the Union should stand in defense of the values that are supported by the majority of the citizens of North Macedonia, which, he said, are the values of the European Union.