North Macedonia has made progress on Prespes Agreement, George Katrougalos says
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Foreign Minister George Katrougalos on Monday stressed the progress that North Macedonia has made in the implementation of the Prespes Agreement and the implementation of reforms in the country.
Katrougalos made the statement during a working breakfast organised together with his Romanian counterpart and chairman of the EU foreign affairs ministers’ council Teodor Melescanu, with the participation of North Macedonia Foreign Minister Nikolas Dimitrov, on the accession of North Macedonia to the EU.
More than 20 EU ministers responded to the invitation to attend the working breakfast, which was held before the beginning of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels – which constitutes an ‘impressive’ turnout, according to diplomatic sources. The same sources said that the participants praised the Prespes Agreement and the political courage of both governments, while stressing the contribution of the Agreement to regional stability and describing it as a model for solving disputes and an example of EU cooperation and convergence.
“We wanted to convey the message that Greece supports the European prospects of all the countries of the Western Balkans, but this is a process that is judged according to the progress that each country is making. North Macedonia has proved that it wants to be open to European prospects – showing political courage and promoting both the Prespes Agreement and important internal reforms,” Katrougalos noted, adding that Greece’s key message is that “when a country is trying to align itself with the European acquis, we Europeans must respond in kind and open the European road to it.”
Asked about the progress in the implementation of the Prespes Agreement, the Greek minister said he was “generally pleased” and clarified that “the two sides want to apply both the spirit and letter of the agreement.”
“There are times when we see departures from its implementation, but the good thing is that, whenever we point this out to the other side, the problem that has been raised is immediately corrected,” he added.
Source: ANA-MPA