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European Western Balkans
Politics

Zafirovski: NATO first, EU accession later

Ceremony held in Skopje on 31 March 2003 which marked the end of NATO’s peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Photo: NATO

SKOPJE – It is more important for Macedonia to join NATO first, and then work on EU accession, says Macedonia 2025 Summit co-founder and board member Mike Zafirovski.

The objective should not be EU membership per se, but European standards, he noted.

Speaking to Tanjug at the summit, Zafirovski said he hoped Macedonia would join the EU by 2025.

The current situation in Macedonia is good – despite the political turmoil over the past few years, GDP is rising and unemployment is declining, he said.

It is encouraging that the citizens and the government want things to improve, he said, adding that he had been very pleased to hear Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev say at the summit that growth stood at six percent.

He said there were good reasons for optimism and that he hoped the government would take the right measures.

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