PM Hristijan Mickoski took part Friday in the regional leaders’ summit on the Growth Plan of the EU for the Western Balkans, which took place in Tirana, Albania.
At the sidelines of the summit, PM Mickoski stated that the progress of North Macedonia towards EU membership should be evaluated based on the implementation of reforms, and not, as he said, based on the bilateral issues the country has with other countries.
“We have been in this process long enough – more than 25 years, 20 years since we became a candidate country – and really, what we have experienced along the way I would not wish upon anyone else. But it is obvious that once you establish an exception to a rule, it becomes a rule, and later other member states can call upon that exception which was previously established, and it grows into a rule. So, I really no longer see any point if bilateral problems and bilateral disputes are the ones deciding whether countries should become full members of the EU.
For me, the point I see is in the delivery, the reforms, the steps that are fulfilled. And as long as it is based on the system of delivery, then absolutely we as a country will be competitive, and I am convinced that we will be the ones to reach the final goal first”, Mickoski stated.