The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski, said today in Brussels, at the first intergovernmental conference with the EU, that his country's goal is to be fully ready to take on the obligations of membership by the end of 2030.
At the beginning of his speech, he pointed out that it is a great honor for him to have the opportunity to speak in his native Macedonian language at today's long-awaited and well-deserved intergovernmental conference, with which North Macedonia opens negotiations with the EU.
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He pointed out that the North Macedonian authorities are aware that the duration of the negotiations will depend primarily on the implementation of the necessary reforms, as well as on the ability of the EU to support and deepen its own development, guaranteeing its capacity for the integration of new members.
"In this sense, with intensive and dedicated work, North Macedonia aims to be fully ready to assume the obligations of EU membership by the end of 2030 in order to become an EU member by the beginning of the next EU budget period," Kovačevski said.
He pointed out that Skopje is dedicated to overcoming challenges and improving relations with its neighbors through the implementation of the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria.
"The European future with unconditional respect for the dignity and uniqueness of the Macedonian people and their linguistic, identity, historical and cultural peculiarities. I am glad that these issues, as well as bilateral issues that are not directly related to EU law and the Copenhagen criteria for membership, will not be discussed during the negotiations, which was unequivocally confirmed by EC President Ursula von der Leyen in the Assembly of North Macedonia," Kovačevski said.
He added that he is proud that the Macedonian language will be the language in which the process of accession negotiations will be conducted, including the conclusion of the Agreement on the accession of North Macedonia to the EU.
"We are impatiently waiting for the day when, with the full membership of North Macedonia in the EU, the Macedonian language will be one of the official languages of the EU, equal to all the other 24 official languages of the European Union," said Kovačevski.
With this first intergovernmental conference, North Macedonia begins the last phase of its long journey towards full membership in the EU, Kovačevski said. "Today is a historic day for us, long-awaited and well-deserved," he pointed out.
He noted that today's intergovernmental conference practically operationalizes the decision of the EU Council from March 2020 (which until now was prevented by the Bulgarian veto).
"After 17 years, we are taking a key step on the way to realizing our decades-long, generational dream. The road to Brussels was a long one. North Macedonia formally applied for full membership in 2004 and received candidate status in 2005. The European Commission gave the first recommendation for the start of negotiations in 2009, and the EU Council confirmed it with a unanimous decision in March 2020," Kovačevski said.
Opening the intergovernmental conference, Jan Lipavski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, which presides over the European Union, said that the accession negotiations starting today with North Macedonia will be rigorous and demanding.
As he said, the next, second intergovernmental conference will be held without delay and other political conditions after North Macedonia implements constitutional changes and includes Bulgaria in the Constitution and informs Brussels about it.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, told the Macedonians that they will not lose their identity on the way to the EU.
"No one has lost it. Your identity will remain and be augmented by other identities, which are not alternative but complementary. That is why we are here today. We need you, we need North Macedonia to complete our complex identity. We need each other because together we are stronger Borel said.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelji said that the European Commission is ready to start the screening process for North Macedonia today.
After today's intergovernmental conference, according to announcements, the screening process will begin, which will last a year and a half.
After the end of the screening, a second intergovernmental conference is planned at which the opening phase of the negotiations should be completed, but its holding is conditional on constitutional amendments, that is, the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution.
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