Kovacevski, Brnabic: Time Right for Start of EU's Accession Talks With Skopje

Ana Brnabic, Dimitar Kovacevski, Skopje, May 18 2022 (BETAPHOTO/VLADA SEVERNE MAKEDONIJE/VIKTOR IRVIN IVANOV)

The prime ministers of North Macedonia and Serbia, Dimitar Kovacevski and Ana Brnabic, concurred on May 18 that the time was right for North Macedonia to start its pre-accession negotiations with the EU, which would be a positive signal for the entire region.

"However, our European integration, and I'm referring to Macedonia and Albania, is being held hostage by Bulgaria. Our European integration has been reduced to debates about history, which I see practically all of the EU countries justifying," Kovacevski has stated.

The two prime ministers pointed out that the Open Balkan initiative should continue to function as a platform for regional cooperation at all levels, and that the invitation was open for other countries of the region to participate in the forthcoming Summit in Ohrid.

Kovacevski assessed that this initiative was not a replacement for European integration and that it was "exceptionally positive according to all basics of the logic of economics, because it creates a greater market and more possibilities for exchange, facilitates economy of volume and normally leads to an increase in the region's GDP."

He has stated that Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic would also attend the forthcoming summit of the Open Balkan Initiative in Ohrid.

The projects of the motorway and railway infrastructure along Corridors X and VIII were described as particularly important for connecting the region, reads the statement of the government of North Macedonia.

During the joint news conference, the Serbian prime minister announced that the next priority project was the high-speed railway from Belgrade to the border with North Macedonia, i.e. the complete modernization of the railway Corridor X.

Brnabic and Kovacevski concurred that the advancement of relations between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox churches towards the overcoming of problems, was a positive moment.