President Stevo Pendarovski addressed today the ambassadorial round table titled “The Western Balkans between the West and the East: North Macedonia – EU member by 2030?”, organized by the Council of Ambassadors.
In his address, President Pendarovski spoke about the European integration process of the Republic of North Macedonia and the region, the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukraine in the Western Balkans, as well as the domestic reform agenda, including the fight against corruption.
President Pendarovski said that the support for membership in the European Union is declining for various reasons, especially among ethnic Macedonians, and pointed out that the existence of divergent views on important issues in foreign policy is difficult for decision makers to manage.
He pointed to two possible situations in the coming years – to make excellent reforms, and the focus of the European Union is not on the Western Balkans, or to make no reforms at home, and the European Union has a focus on the region. In both situations, according to President Pendarovski, there will be no progress in integrations and he added that commitment is needed from both sides – both in terms of the implementation of the reforms and in terms of the focus on the region.
In the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Pendarovski assessed that for the first time after the Kumanovo and Ohrid agreements, the stability of the Western Balkans is a priority of the international community, not integrations.
“Specifically for the Western Balkans, after the war in Ukraine, after February 24 – Europe is again in the focus of the US foreign policy, and thus the Western Balkans, as a segment of it, because according to all assessments of experts, politicians and diplomats, if Russia tries to distract the entire Western alliance that is helping Ukraine to liberate itself, it will be easier to do it in the Balkans than in the Baltics,” said President Pendarovski.
Speaking about regional initiatives, including the Open Balkans and the Berlin Process, President Pendarovski called on Brussels to prioritize between these two things.
Turning to the main topic of the round table, President Pendarovski said that membership in the EU until 2030 is possible, but for that, according to him, it is necessary to maintain the national consensus and for Brussels to keep its attention on the region.
“Is membership possible until 2030?” It is possible. We have internal potential, we have smart people, we have experience, we have a long-established negotiation system and we are the best, indisputably the best prepared candidate in the history of the European Union, but I am not sure in this context and in this complex of issues about two other things. First, I do not know if we will reach a national consensus on that issue. We lack it at this point. So, I am talking about real, not rhetorical consensus. Will we achieve it and will we maintain it because you have to maintain it for years and years while the negotiations last; moreover, I am not aware if the European Union will keep its focus on the region even after the end of the war in Ukraine”, President Pendarovski said.
In that direction, President Pendarovski said that after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, geostrategic reasons began to dominate the logic of the European Union, which was followed by the decisions to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine and Moldova.
