News
11/19/2022 11:46
The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs, Bojan Maricikj, spoke at the "Balkan Integration Forum 2022", as a panellist on the topic "Western Balkans and the enlargement of the EU - a reflection of Russian aggression against Ukraine".
According to the Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator with the EU, North Macedonia has done a lot in the last six years and expects it to be valued in an appropriate way, not with empty promises, but with a concrete plan, when North Macedonia, but also all the others, who have already been in the process for a long time, will become members of the European Union.
- Recently, various non-papers, various documents have been circulating that propose the so-called accession in stages. That means to accede as soon as possible, while not having all those privileges and rights that all member countries have, let's say the right to commissioners, the right to veto, etc., pointed out Maricikj, stressing that it is important for us, even under such conditions, to enter the European Union as soon as possible and believes that in that sense everyone in the region should have a common goal that will be presented to the European Union.
Deputy Prime Minister Maricikj said that the European Union is still, deep down, both a peace and a political project, because if it were not, the question of whether or not Ukraine should become a member, or Moldova and Georgia, or any other Eastern Partnership country.
Maricikj said that he expects the EU member states not to allow historical processes to be any kind of benchmarks and benchmarks, because if they allow it, in the future an EU member state can demand anything from another candidate country, at any stage of the European integration process, which will have nothing to do with the European Union.
- That is why it is very important to stick to the European principles, the Copenhagen criteria, and to solve bilateral disputes in a European way, with a fair compromise and through the mechanisms that the European Union and the Council of Europe already have, Maricikj added.
He expressed his belief that the Bulgarian politicians have also learned a lesson from the issue of North Macedonia and said that we have good allies in Bulgaria, in all political parties, but unfortunately there is still a lot of tension and anti-campaign, which Maricikj believes is tied to the what is happening in Ukraine, because similar structures that are against support for Ukraine are also against North Macedonia and negotiations with the European Union, he says.
- This is a joint task on both our and the Bulgarian side to prevent all these disputes from becoming an even bigger obstacle in the coming period because it will definitely affect our relations in the long term, as well as future relations in the Union and the region, Maricikj pointed out.
What must be highlighted according to Maricikj about the crisis in Ukraine is that it showed how difficult it is to remain neutral at this time and practically pressured all the countries of Europe to take a clear position and pointed out that North Macedonia was among the first countries to condemn Ukraine's aggression, accepted the sanctions imposed by the European Union, and fully complied with the EU's foreign policy.
However, he added that the crisis in Ukraine showed several other important things, and one of them is the importance of the NATO Alliance both as an organization and as a security system, which we were not aware of when the constitutional amendments related to the Prespa Agreement were made.
- Many told us that that price is too high and that we should ask ourselves if it is even worth joining NATO. Four years later, however, we have a situation where developed, democratic, serious countries such as Sweden and Finland are seeking membership in NATO, and we are already there. Now we realize that it really was important. And that the price was not too high, because if North Macedonia was not a NATO member, surely the security and political situation would be much more complicated than they are today, Maricikj concluded.
The "Balkan Integration Forum 2022", organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the European Movement in Montenegro, was held in Podgorica, Montenegro, from 17 to 18 November 2022.
The Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Bojan Maricikj, participated on-line, and his interlocutors were Ranko Krivokapic, former President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Vesna Pusic, former member of the Croatian Parliament, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Crnadak, and Boshko Jaksic, journalist and columnist.