SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
On the occasion of 30 years of EU membership of their respective countries, the Ambassadors of Sweden, Finland, and Austria, Ami Larsson-Jain, Niklas Lindqvist, and Martin Pammer, respectively, have sent a message that the decision to proceed on the EU path is North Macedonia’s, while challenges can be overcome through good will of all involved.
On Thursday, though they said that Sweden, Finland, and Austria, too, had faced problems on the road to full-fledged membership, they pointed also to the benefits they’d had since the 1 January 1995 integration. In the Ambassadors’ view, North Macedonia should continue the Reform Agenda from the Growth Plan, but also, at the same time, find a solution to the dispute concerning Bulgaria.
“The EU has offered this Growth Plan and North Macedonia has responded, like you said, with a Reform Agenda for this country that has been given recognition from Brussels as a very strong set of reforms needed, which will, in themselves, push this country much closer to the EU. That’s all very good news, I think. Then, you have a separate political check, and the question there will be to the government here. That decision is in the hands of North Macedonia”, Ambassador Larsson-Jain said.
Ambassador Lindqvist, despite underlining the importance of dialogue, stated that every country, including North Macedonia, was negotiating with the EU, not with neighbouring countries. Ambassador Pammer said that he strongly believed the challenges regarding the 2022 compromise were manageable through good will from all involved.
The same day, Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi again said that North Macedonia, in his view, had a lot of friends that wanted to help on the EU path. He also stated that he hoped the “obstacle”, that is, the constitutional changes issue would be overcome. To that end, the Speaker pointed out that there was work at all levels.
