On the sidelines of the 2026 Paris Peace Forum, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova met with the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda.
She welcomed the opening of our first resident embassy in Vilnius today and expressed an expectation for the deepening of Macedonian-Lithuanian political, economic and institutional cooperation.
The two leaders exchanged views on the European Union enlargement process, the situation in the Western Balkans region and the Macedonian challenges ahead of Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the EU, which begins in January 2027.
They agreed that reforms and the Copenhagen criteria are the key benchmarks for EU membership for candidate countries, and that bilateral issues should not serve as obstacles to the enlargement process.
The President noted that neighboring countries can play a positive role in the region’s European integration, pointing to the example of the Scandinavian countries, which provided full support to the Baltic states prior to their accession to the European Union in 2004.
She informed the President about the steps taken by the country on its path toward the EU, as well as the issues the country faces since it was granted candidate status in 2005 to the present.
Siljanovska-Davkova noted that the Macedonian efforts toward a constructive dialogue with neighboring Bulgaria are continuing, but emphasized that this requires both sides to approach the process with good will.
