A few days before the European Council, which could decide to open EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, the Macedonian Minister for European Affairs, Bojan Maricikj, gave EUROPE an update on the situation (interview by Camille-Cerise Gessant).
Agence EUROPE - What are your expectations for next week’s EU Council and the European Council?
Bojan Maricikj - We are giving our best to catch the ‘photo finish’ of the (EU Council) French presidency and to bring some positive news for the Western Balkan and for North Macedonia and Albania.
Since the beginning of the process with Bulgaria, particularly in this phase, this year, we haven't been linked with any deadline or any particular date, but the more time passes, the more complicated things can get. So we have been in intensive negotiations with Sofia and with great interest and engagement of Paris. This is why we keep working and keep hoping that, by the end of next week, we can bring good news.
Where are you in the negotiation process with Sofia?
We have been discussing the details for several months and we had a very positive visit from the Bulgarian Foreign Minister last week in Skopje. I think there is a good basis for a fair solution. Things depend on how creative and how determined we'll be on both sides of the border (...).
For us, it’s important that we do our best under the leadership of the French Presidency and President Macron to really try to deliver this time because we have seen in the past several years, particularly in the past two and a half years, that time is of the essence, particularly in the context of Russian aggression in Ukraine and general European security in the future of the Western Balkans.
I think that at the summit between the EU and Western Balkans that is will take place next week in Brussels, we'll have much more content and much more positive atmosphere if you have good news.
But do you think it’ll be possible to have an agreement by next week?
We have not wasted our time in the past several months. So I think that if we make a push and an effort these days, it is possible. It's important to have quick solution, but not a rush solution because we want a solution that will be sustainable, and that can be implemented.
What could be the consequences if we don't have an agreement at the EU level?
The consequences are at several levels. First of all, it will send the wrong signal to the Western Balkan countries. It is also a matter of EU credibility in the Western Balkans and how credible is the EU enlargement policy, because there’s still open issues - the Belgrade/Pristina dialogue over the Kosovo issue, Bosnia-Herzegovina - and North Macedonia has been a good example or a showcase of courage for solving big issues in the region.
If we start negotiations as soon as possible, then it’ll be an example to follow. So it’ll directly influence the motivation of other countries to either to take difficult decisions or not.
It is also about how credible is our European future as Western Balkans countries, which is not unimportant in this situation when the Russian propaganda is pushing to prove that the European Union as a concept does not work for Western Balkans countries.
Starting the negotiations will put us in much calmer waters and in a much better position to make our reforms faster, to break with nationalism and to promote the fight against corruption, better living standards for the citizens and making the region more attractive for its own citizens, but also for foreign investors and for the other countries. (...)
On the contrary, if our European future is not supported by concrete steps by the European Union, it will definitely open the door to a rise in nationalism and the resonance of Russian propaganda that our Western Balkan countries have no future.
So it is about stability, about security. The question of enlargement and the Western Balkans is also a question of completing the European political project.
Do you think the fact that Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia have applied for EU membership will have an effect on the Western Balkans process to join the EU?
The Western Balkan countries have been outside the EU for a long time, negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro are taking ten years without knowing exactly when they will join the EU, we and Albania have been waiting for some time. (...) So there too many open questions in the Western Balkans to open a credible debate over Ukraine and Moldova and Georgia.
Every European country has a legitimate course or goal to join the EU (...), but I think the Western Balkan countries are surrounded by European Union members. And there is no other future than in the European Union. Everything else would be much more complicated, both for us and for the European Union.
What do you think of the idea of Mr Macron, and then Mr Michel, of a European political community?
First of all, we need to discuss how to make the process of accession of the Western Balkans countries into the EU more dynamic, more beneficial and more attractive for the countries of the Western Balkans. And as long as the purpose of this process is full membership, then we are fine to discuss the political community. We can participate, but it cannot be a supplement or a substitute for our membership in the EU. As long as it is not put in that context, we are supportive to that idea and we are open to discuss on how can we make a contribution.
Why did you align yourselves with the EU sanctions against Russia?
For us, it wasn’t only an obligation as a youngest NATO ally and as a candidate country, but it was also a moral choice in this important moment to demonstrate that we are on the side of Ukraine and Ukrainian people and that we condemn in practical terms the Russian aggression to Ukraine.
What we think is important is that the EU values this because it was not an easy decision for a small country like North Macedonia which is highly dependent on resources from Russia, Russian gas or in the food supply chain.
What we ask from the EU is to try to plug in all the countries of the Western Balkans that are aligning and of course everyone else into the supply chain systems, into the systems that can help us to survive in the upcoming months and in years during this crisis, particularly next winter. So supply of gas, supply of basic products, food products, and supply of electricity.