Athens, 3 November 2021 (MIA) – Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said on Wednesday that if neighbors restore nationalistic rhetoric, Greece will have to redefine its national position in regard to support for the EU enlargement process, MIA reports from Athens. At a joint session of the commissions for European and foreign affairs in the Greek Parliament, during which Slovenian FM Anže Logar presented the priorities of Slovenia’s EU presidency, Varvitsiotis expressed concern over developments in North Macedonia and underlined that proper implementation of the Prespa Agreement is one of the preconditions in the negotiating framework. “I admit that developments in North Macedonia are concerning. If neighbors restore nationalistic rhetoric, we’ll have to redefine our national position regarding support for the enlargement process. One of the preconditions of the negotiating framework is proper implementation of the Prespa Agreement. This is the message we have to send to our neighbors today,” Varvitsiotis said. Moreover, he reaffirmed Greek support for the EU enlargement efforts of the Slovenian presidency. In regard to the EU’s first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia and Albania, Slovenian FM Anže Logar underlined that the “situation is difficult,” as 27 member states have given their approval, but one member still has certain reservations and lacks a functional government, so “the presidency has no one to talk to on that side.” “A solution can’t be found without talks. We’ve had some positive signals from Bulgaria, but I suppose progress will be impossible during the Slovenian presidency, not because of lack of initiative or ambition, but due to ceteris paribus,” Logar noted. SYRIZA’s Ioannis Bournous said during Wednesday’s session that the Slovenian presidency was right to call for a time limit on the region’s EU integration, adding that “Zaev’s resignation is a result of the fact that certain member states are undermining the European perspective of the Western Balkans.” Moreover, he called for EU’s first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia and Albania to be held as soon as possible.