BRUSSELS – EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, will arrive in Skopje tomorrow to discuss North Macedonia’s path to the EU and its reform efforts, with a focus on the implementation of the Reform Agenda within the framework of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. During the visit, she will meet Prime Minister Hristian Mickoski, Minister for European Affairs Bekim Sali, as well Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi, N1 reports.
In her interview with MIA news agency, Kos stated that North Macedonia has shown strong performance within the reform agenda and that she is coming to Skopje to encourage the government to do the same in EU accession negotiations.
“Now we have the opportunity, which happens once in a generation, to make it happen”, she noted.
Kos remarked that those who fulfill their obligations are making progress “and that this is most clearly seen in Montenegro and Albania”.
“Progress in accession negotiations requires a key element: trust between candidate countries and EU member states. In my experience, such trust is primarily built on two elements: the fulfillment of obligations and the relationship of candidate countries to the EU and its member states. It starts with good relationships. When mutual trust grows, the accession process becomes more secure. I am convinced that this would be the case for North Macedonia as well”, Marta Kos underlined.
She pointed out that so far there has been no case of providing guarantees to a candidate country that no other dispute will arise during the accession process, until the ratification of the accession treaty by all 27 member states.
“This is how EU enlargement works. It is important to accept this reality,” Kos said.
