During a visit to Northern Macedonia, Antonio Tajani stated that the block must “give the hand to those people who want to be with the Europeans.”
“If we don’t, there will be someone who will want to replace us, namely Russia, China and other parts of the world, namely Turkey,” said Antonio Tajani.
The official spoke during a press conference with his Northern Macedonia counterpart Timcho Mutsunski in the capital Skopje.
Antonio Tajani has stated that Italy is “working and will work for Northern Macedonia to be an effective member of the European Union as soon as possible.”
Northern Macedonia and neighboring Albania have been applicants for EU membership since 2005. They have begun membership negotiations with the block in 2022 in a process that is expected to take years.
The other western Balkans countries intending to adhere to the EU are Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The dispute with the neighboring EU countries delayed North Macedonia’s membership negotiations. A decades-old dispute with Greece over the use of the name Macedonia and the region’s ancient heritage was overcome in 2018.
However, in the meantime a novel dispute with Bulgaria, also, also focused on History, language and culture of the Balkans.
Following the Bulgarian pressure, the EU asked North Macedonia to change its Constitution – inserting a reference to the existence of a Bulgarian ethnic minority – so that the process of adherence could advance.
In return, Bulgaria would raise its objections to North Macedonia membership.
Skopje’s previous center-left government had agreed to make the constitutional amendment, but failed to assure the required majority in Parliament.
The new North Macedonia conservative government opposes the proposed amendment firmly and is doing all that can to delay it.
