Brussels, 24/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - "I see no obstacle to our intention of presenting ourselves as candidate for EU membership", declared Ilinka Mitreva, Macedonian Foreign Minister, at the end of talks with EU Council President Georges Papandreou on the fringe of the General Affairs Council on Monday. Ms. Mitreva is also have said to have indicated that that could occur "by the end of the year" and that her country "could possibly" have the same ambitions as Croatia (which officially presented its candidature in Athens on Friday: see EUROPE of 22 February, p.7), which is to begin negotiations end-2004 and join the EU at the same time as Bulgaria and Romania, probably in 2007. Reaffirming Macedonia's "strong commitment" to fulfilling the necessary conditions for European integration, "despite a very difficult economic situation", Ms. Mitreva set out her Government's priorities: the country's stability, combating corruption and organised crime, full implementation of the Ohrid Agreement, economic reforms and the rule of law. "We are expecting a great deal from the Thessaloniki Summit", she concluded, referring to the EU/Western Balkans Summit scheduled for 21 June, a day after the European Council. For his part, Georges Papandreou stressed the determination of the European Union to make of this region "an integral part of the EU". Asked about the fact that several Member States of the Union (including Greece) had still not ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Macedonia, Papandreou said that he expected ratification "in the coming months".