EU aspirations are still alive and all steps taken towards this goal are a sign that they are kept alive, said European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, at a press conference held after the plenary session of high level accession talks, known as (HLAD)
Commissioner Hahn congratulated the political parties who had signed the Przhino Agreement for taking on the responsibility which arose from it, the return of the opposition to Parliament and the election of a special prosecutor achieved by the deadline.
However, Mr Hahn stated that a few points remain to be implemented like the electoral law, which should be adopted by October the 6th.
“I had the opportunity to meet with leaders of the political parties to discuss the reforms. All leaders agreed that elections should be held by the end of April and that it must be conducted according to EU standards”, said Hahn, expressing hope that the new agreement on the electoral law will be passed before, and not at the last moment.
Regarding the prospect of starting negotiations without the name issue resolved, matters should be taken step by step.
“I’m quite pragmatic, we must go step by step, the crisis hasn’t been fully resolved. If we implement the agreement point by point, we will be able to do everything to convince EU member states to begin negotiations. However, its not going to take a few months”, said Hahn adding that the best contribution to the country is its stability, this is how the beginning of negotiations will start.
He noted that the EU had probably learned its lesson that the delay of negotiations only helps create problems for the country.
The Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said at a joint press conference with EU Commissioner that talks had been successful.
“The commencement of negotiations with the EU is the Republic of Macedonia’s primary goal. Recently we have had profound progress in the implementation of the agreement. We have elected a Special Public Prosecutor, the opposition have returned to Parliament, all this achieved through dialogue”, said Nikola Gruevski, adding that now the main goal is to strengthen our confidence in the electoral register, SEC (State Election Commission) and our institutions.
