Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani said that the Government will fully focus on resolving the name issue with Greece, as a means to advance its Euro-Altantic integration. Osmani, who is in charge of European integration in th Government, said that his visit to Germany later on Tuesday and his later visit to Athens, as well as the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias to Macedonia at the end of August, all serve the same goal.
“This issue is becoming a priority for the Government. We already resolved to major issues – the law on the languages and the treaty with Bulgaria. Now we have the energy to focus on the name. We expect to have many friends on the way and that is why the entire activity of the Government is in communication with all the states as well as with our southern neighbor and other neighboring countries. We want to close these issues and to fundamentally break toward Euro-integration”, Osmani said in a press statement ahead of a breakfast with Ambassadors from Balkan countries.
Osmani added that, in light of the friendship treaty with Bulgaria, there are talks with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Zakharieva to hold a meeting of countries – friends of Macedonia in Sofia, where Macedonia would present its plans for reforms.
“It is very important that the three countries that hold the subsequent presidency of the EU, Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, have interests in the region and don’t want it to remain a black hole in EU and NATO and they will raise our issue high on their agendas. It is very important for us to catch this momentum and to return the EU focus on us and deliver. And if we deliver, naturally the EU will deliver too”, Osmani added.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that he is satisfied with the implementation of the 3-6-9 reform plan, despite the slow progress of work in Parliament, adding that most of the changes do not require changes in the laws. Osmani said that a third of the measures were already implemented in the first month.
