The initially planned working visit to Macedonia by Michael Roth, the State Minister for Europe of the Federal Republic of Germany, instead occurred in the form of a video link conference that apart form the Euro-integrations they also discussed the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The head of the Macedonian diplomacy called the EU to provide assistance in dealing with the social-economical consequences in all of the Western Balkans countries.
-As before, with the migration crisis, it is now evident that COVID-19 knows no boundaries, has no nationality and affects everyone in Europe equally. Therefore, we would like to jointly call for the inclusion of all Western Balkan countries, regardless of their EU integration status, in all EU platforms working towards a coordinated response for tackling the virus. In this regard, I call on the EU, in addition to supporting its member states, to provide support in mitigating the socio-economic consequences for the countries of our region. All of our countries have taken extraordinary measures to protect the health of our citizens in terms of limiting travel, but we must at the same time ensure that the necessary food and medicine will continue to move between EU borders and the region. The same goes for ensuring the unhindered return of stranded citizens, who are faced with a difficult situation, canceled flights and blocked in cross-border regions throughout the world. In short, it is time to show European solidarity!” -said Dimitrov.
With his colleague Roth, he spoke about the EU aspirations of the Republic of North Macedonia and the expectations ahead of the General Affairs Council scheduled for 24 March.
“After the stakes invested by North Macedonia, it will be very important to cross the line and proclaim joint European success. It is a special privilege at this time to have strong support from Germany, which is a proven and great friend and sincere supporter of our European perspective.” – stated Dimitrov.
