Is North Macedonia compatible with EU membership? Johannes Hahn
I would have liked to see today’s meeting as a meeting to celebrate something. I hope we can do it on Friday!
You have spelled out clearly your expectations to the European Leaders. I think the focus should be on the notion “Leader“. We expect leadership, we expect that things are assessed also on a broader picture and if you look at the political track-record of North Macedonia in the last couple of years, I think there is almost no country in Europe which has gone such a long way, with so many difficult – and sometimes painful – reform measures. But as you rightly said addressing your citizens, it should primarily be seen as something which is in the interest of the citizens of North Macedonia. They deserve better living conditions, they deserve a perspective which enables them to stay in this beautiful country and not to be forced to migrate to transfer money back home. It should be a country where you can live and work and enjoy your free time, being surrounded by family and friends. This is what we are working for in all European countries.
You have together with your team created an atmosphere of cooperation in the Parliament and everybody has played her/his role. I think as Europeans we should acknowledge all these efforts and all these achievements because you have delivered and as I said several times: if our partners deliver, we, as Europeans have to deliver, too. And this is our joint and justified expectation for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow at the European Council that indeed we get the greenlightfor opening accession negotiations!
The EU and the huge majority of its Member States ask for nothing more than getting the greenlight in order to prepare in a comprehensive and thorough manner the opening of the accession negotiations. It’s about a clear signal of commitment to the European perspective of a country like North Macedonia and, may I say, also Albania. This is what counts and what we can expect after all the measures that have been taken by the two countries. And we have met now at the level of the General Affairs Council three times within the last 16 months to decide on this. So far, it was not possible. Now it is at the level of leaders. I hope that there is a broader political assessment.
Of course, it is first and foremost for the two countries, but it should also be seen as a strong signal – as an incentive – for the whole region. Because if all the efforts North Macedonia has successfully done and achieved are not properly rewarded, there is no incentive for Serbia and Kosovo for example to enter into a substantive dialogue about the future co-existence of the two countries. Because the only reason to do so is a credible European perspective.
North Macedonia could go ahead with this and demonstrate to the others what it means to undergo serious reform measures. There are so many talks and speeches about the requirement that Europe should become “weltpolitikfähig” – the ability to play a role on the global scale. But if we are not able to do this in our own inner courtyard, we will lose any credibility to do so at other places in the world. So, what is really at stake is also Europe’s accountability and Europe’s credibility. I can only ask our leaders to find a way to give green light for a process with thourough reforms that will last a couple of years before the countries actually join the EU.
I fully agree with the Prime Minister [of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev] that we have to work on a further updating of our methodology – nobody is perfect. But we have also to work on further reforms and steps towards better integration and cooperation among the Union. This does not exclude that we are working on the further accession of members of countries from the Western Balkans. Both [processes] have to be done in parallel. Both [processes] will last years and we cannot do it one after the other, but we have to do it in parallel as was said, by the way, by President [of France, Emmanuel] Macron during his last visit in Belgrade. So, I think that the issues and proposals are clear and on the table. I would like to thank in that context the Finnish Presidency for all its efforts in that respect. It was really an honest broker, trying to facilitate a good compromise. And once again, I am still optimistic and positive that there will be a positive outcome tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Press point opening remarks by Johannes Hahn - Enlargement Negotiations!
Do Albania and North Macedonia follow the EU core values?
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