Granada, 6 October 2023 (MIA) - The enlargement of the European Union is on the agenda after many years. Ensuring the country's continued Euro-integration path is key as there are positive signals over EU accession of the Western Balkans. Spain strongly backs North Macedonia's bid to join the European Union. Benefits of EU membership should be felt the sooner, these were some of the key messages shared at the third summit of the European Political Community in Spain's Granada, where Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski took part Thursday alongside leaders of 47 countries, including all 27 EU member-states, countries of the Western Balkans, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, as well as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The enlargement of the European Union is on the agenda after many years. This is an exceptionally important meeting with all countries in Europe, and one of the main topics, the most important one for us, is enlargement, Kovachevski said in Granada, adding that North Macedonia is in an excellent position considering it kicked off EU negotiations last year, while the Union has already launched a process to adjust itself so that it can function with more member states.

“I think that we find ourselves in an excellent position considering we began our EU negotiations last year. On the other hand, the EU has a strategic interest and has already launched a process of adaptation in terms of the need to function in the future with more member states. So, there is dynamism within the member states for membership, above all I am referring to the Western Balkan countries, including North Macedonia, however, there is also dynamism within the EU in terms of adapting so it can function with more member states,” said Kovachevski.

North Macedonia is a country-leader in the Western Balkans regarding the EU accession process. We already have over 45-percent alignment of our legislation with the EU law, most of our institutions have already harmonized their operations with the EU counterparts, and North Macedonia will surely be part of the EU enlargement, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski told a press conference within the European Political Community (EPC) summit, MIA reports from Granada.

"The country is finishing the bilateral screening and the report on the first cluster 'Fundamentals' is complete. We are already working on the roadmap as basis for the accession process and the opening of chapters. What remains is for us to fulfill our task undertaken in the Negotiating Framework that has been approved by all 27 EU member-states, by adopting the constitutional amendments, immediately followed by the opening of the first cluster," said PM Kovachevski.

According to him, it is important that the EPC summit is taking place a day ahead of the informal European Council meeting focused on the Union's priorities in coming years.

"Following today's discussions, they will tackle enlargement as EU's strategic commitment, but also internal reforms related to the enlargement, thus ensuring the Union's functioning with the new states that are set to join by 2030. Therefore, EPC is an extremely important platform for North Macedonia and the Western Balkans as a whole," said Kovachevski.

He pointed out that during the bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and with the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, they discussed the dynamics of the EU’s screening process with North Macedonia, which is successfully progressing.

According to him, Europe has managed to show that the only way to peace, stability, unity and prosperity on the continent is through joint efforts by all countries, be it EU members, candidates or aspirants.

"We are geographically and historically part of this continent, sharing common values. A joint security architecture is needed so that Europe lives in peace, freedom and prosperity. Europe has always been the centre of innovation and new processes, which can lead to development of businesses and better standard of life. Tomorrow's informal meeting of the European Council will also show that enlargement remains high on EU's agenda," noted Kovachevski.

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski took part Thursday at a roundtable on digital transition and artificial intelligence within the European Political Community Summit in Granada.

PM Kovachevski and counterparts from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Liechtenstein, Croatia and Albania, and the European Commission and European Parliament Presidents, discussed the role of AI as foundation for future innovations and development on the European continent, digital infrastructure, role of social media and the need to regulate their operations.

Roundtable participants reaffirmed the necessity and urgency for Europe to double its efforts in order to ensure leadership in all processes related to research and other activities ensuring AI's development. They also urged on joining forces at a national level in setting up a European approach and initiatives in the development of standards that are competitive on the global market.

The Spanish King and Queen welcomed the Heads of State and Government attending the Summit of the European Political Community. In the evening, the King and Queen hosted a dinner, within the framework of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Granada, a city with just over 200,000 inhabitants and a great historical and cultural heritage bringing together the three largest monotheistic cultures – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, hosts Thursday the third summit of the European Political Community.

The European Political Community aims to encourage political dialogue and cooperation in dealing with issues of joint interest, and to strengthen the security, stability, and prosperity of the European continent.

The EPC is a platform for political coordination among European countries, aimed to bring together the continent's leaders in the spirit of equality and unity twice a year.

The inaugural EPC summit was held in Prague in October 2022, followed by the second summit in Chișinău this June.

The next summit of European Political Community will be held in the United Kingdom.

Photo: MIA archive