Enlargement Commissioner Varhelyi Visits Skopje

At a joint press-conference with caretaker PM Oliver Spasovski in Skopje on Wednesday, Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said that Macedonia and Albania were ready to start negotiations. He added that the Western Balkans’ EU integration would continue. According to the Commissioner, enlargement is a priority for the new European Commission. As Varhelyi also pointed out, Macedonia has already done a lot. Describing the Prespa deal as historic, he praised the country’s continued reforms. However, the Commissioner stated that the new law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office should be prioritised. In that regard, he said it would be a very good signal if that took place during the term of the current composition of Parliament. According to Spasovski, despite the country’s disappointment, it has accepted that the “EU’s strategic mistake will be fixed”. He also said that the country would very soon get a date for negotiations. Macedonia, the caretaker PM stressed, is encouraged by the statements made by both Varhelyi and the Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, who has said the Commission will present the new methodology for enlargement in several weeks. During his visit to Skopje, the Commissioner also met President Stevo Pendarovski, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski.