SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
If not now, it isn’t known when. That can be interpreted between the lines from Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi’s visit to Skopje on Wednesday. Once again, he didn’t reveal whether June was a real deadline for a start of negotiations and whether three was movement forward towards a solution. The Government didn’t offer many details about what message the Commissioner bring in its press-release about Varhelyi’s meeting with PM Dimitar Kovacevski, Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Maricic, and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani. However, one sentence points to a conclusion that he delivered June as a deadline for North Macedonia to get on the EU train. “Also, there is consent that now is the moment to unblock the Republic of North Macedonia’s Euro-integrations, which could otherwise remain an open issue for another long time, which benefits neither side,” the Government said. After the meeting with Kovacevski, Varhelyi said in a tweet they were committed to “continue our efforts to start the negotiations before the end” of the French Presidency, adding that North Macedonia was part of Europe. He added in the tweet: “No time to waste to speed up the procedures!” The Commissioner also met with the leaders of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, DUI, Ali Ahmeti, and Alliance for Albanians, Ziadin Sela.
