Skopje, 15 July 2022 (TDI): The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited North Macedonia and addressed its Parliament on Thursday.
EU Commission President’s address
Ursula Von der Leyen gave a speech at North Macedonia’s Parliament in Skopje. She acknowledged that the people of Macedonia have worked hard to become EU members.
As a result, Macedonia has been a candidate for membership since 2005. In this regard, the EU Commission President said that,
“I am here today because I believe that this is the moment for you to move ahead towards our common future. Towards our common future in a European Union with North Macedonia as a full-fledged member.”
In addition, the EU Commission official also addressed the language and identity concerns. She stated that the Macedonian language is unquestionably a people’s language.
She repeated that Macedonia is everyone’s language and that it is totally appreciated as she showed satisfaction.
In light of this, the new proposal of the European Union that refers to the Macedonian language without qualification was motivated by this. Additionally, the proposal honors the country’s identity.
The President also asked the Macedonian people to accept the French proposal. The proposal seeks to end the dispute between Macedonia and Bulgaria.
She affirmed that a political-intergovernmental conference will be held within the next few days. This will only happen if the Macedonian people decide to endorse the revised French proposal.
The Commission will immediately start the process of screening the acquis. According to the President, this is the first step in the negotiation process.
Concluding remarks by the President
The President of the EU Commission, concluded by encouraging the Macedonian people to do what is right for prosperity and peace in the state.
Moreover, she remarked that North Macedonia is essential to the future of Europe and that Europe would not be complete without it.
I assured President @SPendarovski and Prime Minister @DKovachevski of my full support to progress towards making North Macedonia an EU Member State. pic.twitter.com/hDhEVQQKJd
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 14, 2022
During the meeting, the EU Commission president met with Dimitar Kovachevski, President of North Macedonia.
She also met with Stevo Pendarovski, the Prime Minister of the North Macedonian Republic.
