President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, as part of her participation in the eighth Paris Peace Forum, addressed the session dedicated to youth and the European perspective in the Balkans.
She pointed out the essential importance of regional cooperation and called for understanding and dialogue, emphasizing that the European integration cannot be a dictate, but rather a dialogue.
“Regional cooperation is incredibly important to me. We cannot escape the region, it is our destiny, this applies not only to us who are still waiting to become candidates or for some countries to complete their negotiations with the EU, but also to those who are already in the EU and belong to our region”, she said after the end of the session, which was moderated by Michel Duclos from the Montaigne Institute.
At the session, she also spoke about the security situation in Europe, saying that we must not be left in a geopolitical vacuum, and reaffirmed the position that the enlargement of the Union is a security issue, not just an enlargement issue.
“What is strange is that in 2019 the rules of the game were changed in the middle of the game, which is unusual neither for sports competitions nor in political negotiations, because a new methodology was introduced”, Siljanovska-Davkova said in a statement.
According to her, it is in the interest of regional stability, regional democracy, but also of the European Union to view the region as a system of connected vessels and to take a bold step like the one in 2004 and show innovation in creating final solutions for the so-called Western Balkans, as an integral part of Europe.
