The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, has taken part in this year’s GLOBSEC Global Security Conference taking place in Bratislava from 18 to 20 April 2013 by being one of the speakers at one of the panel discussions at the Forum, bearing the title of “Reenergizing EU’s Enlargement with the Western Balkans”. 

Following up to the address by European Enlargement Commissioner Füle, who has stated that the European Commission is preparing the EU membership candidate countries for a European Union of the future, rather than one of the past, in his opening remarks, Minister Poposki has stated:

“The prospects of the Balkans are critically dependent on a strong Europe that is willing and able to spread prosperity. Of course, the Balkan countries must not only talk the talk of Europe but also walk the walk of Europe and pursue genuine reforms particularly in the areas of rule of law and good governance.

“The prospects completely vary depending on the location. In that context, it is necessary to strike the right balance,” Minister Poposki has also pointed out.

“The EU polices should put a premium on measures pushing for growth, enhancing infrastructure, creating economic opportunities and improving living standards,” Minister Poposki has emphasized.

Stressing that the Republic of Macedonia has, at this point, become somewhat of a patience guru, Minister Poposki has called upon the EU member states to remain consistent in honouring the rules upon which the club has been founded.

“We have been engaged in adopting and implementing a unique set of vital reforms. Over this entire period, the dialogue we have been having with the European Commission in that respect has been of valuable importance to us. We have a responsibility to keep pursuing those reforms. Certainly, we expect the same level of responsibility and dedication from the EU member states, too. The EU enlargement process should be generating dynamism and prosperity rather than causing frustrations and apathy. In this context, it would serve us well if we always remind ourselves what the Union’s founders had in mind,” Mr. Poposki has emphasized.

In addition to taking part in the panel discussions, Minister Poposki has at the margins of this year’s GLOBSEC Forum also had an opportunity to hold a separate meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajčák.

At the meeting, the chief of Macedonian diplomacy has briefed his Slovak counterpart on the activities that the Republic of Macedonia has been undertaking over the last period with regard to its European integration agenda. On that note, he has once more expressed his appreciation to the Slovak Republic for the support it has been affording the Republic of Macedonia in that respect, expressing his confidence that Slovakia will, by the same token, continue supporting Macedonia in the forthcoming period, too.