Biden’s Executive Order Discussed at Zaev-Byrnes Meeting

On Friday, PM Zoran Zaev met with US Ambassador Kate Marie Byrnes. US President Joe Biden’s Executive Order was the focal point of the meeting. Zaev and the Ambassador are satisfied that the Order also focuses on the fight against corruption, North Macedonia’s Government said in the press-release. As it was added, Zaev and Byrnes jointly ascertained the value and effectiveness of the Order if one takes into consideration that it can disable entry of physical entities and persons from the Western Balkans responsible for corruption, abuse of public or private funds for bribery or for political purposes, as well as for violation of peace, stability and democracy. The same day, the Greek Government, too, welcomed the Order. A day earlier the US State Department had expressed support for Skopje’s EU path. “We support the opening of EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania without delay. We are engaging at the highest levels of government to demonstrate our commitment to the aspirants’ European paths,” Spokesperson Ned Price tweeted.