Authorities in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are firmly backing the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union.
The Czech Republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, together with his counterpart from Slovakia, Miroslav Wlachovský, and Austria, Alexander Schallenberg held talks with representatives of the government, parliament, as well as parliamentary opposition in North Macedonia last week with the aim of Slavkov format states to support North Macedonia membership to the bloc.
Authorities from these three countries also wanted to see the views of key political actors, according to the statement of Czechia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The visit of these three countries’ foreign ministers to North Macedonia came at a time when the latter is discussing constitutional changes, the approval of which is a condition for further progress in accession negotiations with the bloc.
The ministers were acting on behalf of the Council of the EU, under a mandate from the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
Besides, the Slavkov format countries’ foreign ministers also held talks with their counterpart from North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, regarding reforms on the path to the EU, the steps that the Balkan country is taking in order to promote good neighbourly relations and the implications of Russian aggression against the EU enlargement policy.
“I appreciated that North Macedonia is fully aligned with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, including sanctions against Russia. I also congratulated Minister Osmani on North Macedonia’s successful chairmanship of the OSCE,” the Czech Republic’s diplomatic chief Jan Lipavský pointed out.
Austria, Slovakia and Czechia’s Minister also met with North Macedonia’s President, Stevo Pendarovski, and also held talks with the Speaker of the Parliament, Talat Xhaferi.
The Ministers of the countries mentioned above also held a meeting with the leader of the strongest opposition party in North Macedonia, VMRO-DPMNE, and members of the government as well as the opposition of the Parliament of North Macedonia, asked how these three countries can contribute to order to ensure that the internal politically sensitive issue of constitutional change can be resolved primarily for the benefit of the North Macedonian society.
“The current geopolitical situation is an opportunity for North Macedonia to take advantage of,” Minister Lipavsky noted.
North Macedonia was identified as a potential candidate for membership to the bloc in 2003, while in July 2022, the Intergovernmental Conference on accession negotiations was held with North Macedonian authorities, and the Commission began the screening process.
The Balkan country’s accession to the EU was blocked by Bulgaria’s objection related to cultural and language disputes. However, authorities in Austria, Slovakia and Czechia aim to address these challenges and support the reform needed to help this country achieve its goal and become the newest member of the EU.
