President Stevo Pendarovski addressed today the Global Security Forum “GLOBSEC 2020” in Bratislava, on the topic “Western Balkans after Covid-19”.
Emphasizing the European Commission Report of 2016 in which our country was referred to as a “captive state”, President Pendarovski in his address stressed that North Macedonia is now a full member of NATO and one step closer to the formal start of negotiations with the European Union.
In this context, President Pendarovski stressed that North Macedonia is fully prepared to start negotiations. Also, as President Pendarovski pointed out “we do not expect a new blockade, this time from the Republic of Bulgaria”, adding that a new meeting of the Macedonian-Bulgarian commission for historical and educational issues is scheduled for the middle of this month.
“As the Prespa Agreement solves a decades-old problem, I believe that in the spirit of the friendship and good neighborly policy agreement, the Republic of Bulgaria will not be a cause for new disappointment for all of us. Because if that happens, the dissatisfaction of our citizens and politicians will be great”, President Pendarovski underlined in his address.
“Exactly these days, the European Union has shown its solidarity with the countries of the Western Balkans”, President Pendarovski said, welcoming the EU decision to allocate 9 billion Euros under the new economic and development package for the countries of our region.
Referring to the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, President Pendarovski underlined that he would support the decision of both countries, whatever it is, as long as that decision contributes to regional stability and does not affect the sovereign rights of neighboring countries.
“My main role as President is to protect the national interests of my country. That is why we ask the international community for any solution reached by Belgrade and Pristina to include guarantees for regional stability. For the good of the whole region, we would certainly like to see an agreement reached between Serbia and Kosovo as soon as possible”, the President concluded in his address at the global security forum “GLOBSEC 2020”.
Asked about the “Mini Schengen” initiative, President Pendarovski reiterated that he supports it because the initiative is an authentic idea of our countries and will contribute to the economic cooperation in the region and the creation of a regional market. Of course, the ultimate goal is full integration into the European Union of all the countries of the Western Balkans.
