Luxembourg Advocates Opening of EU-North Macedonia Accession Talks

Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, undertook a working visit to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, on Monday.

On this occasion, Jean Asselborn was received by the President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, before meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov.

During the working meeting with his North Macedonian counterpart, Minister Asselborn stressed the importance of supporting the European integration process of all the Western Balkan countries in order to guarantee peace and stability in the region and to make the progress achieved irreversible. In this context, he welcomed the reforms undertaken by the North Macedonian government and encouraged it to continue along this path. “Now is the time for the European Union to honour the historic progress that has been made by this country. Luxembourg therefore supports the opening of EU accession negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia as soon as possible," stated Jean Asselborn.

The visit also provided an opportunity to take stock of the support that the Grand Duchy provides to North Macedonia, particularly through technical assistance programmes aimed at facilitating the country's rapprochement with the EU acquis. Indeed, Luxembourg is the third bilateral donor to the European Investment Bank's (EIB) Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), which is part of the EU’s efforts to help the Western Balkan countries tackle challenges posed by the brain drain. The Grand Duchy also provides financial support to the activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the Western Balkans, which particularly aim to strengthen links between private sector players from a regional point of view.

The working meeting between the two foreign ministers finally provided an overview of the preparations for the EU-Western Balkans Summit to be held in May 2020 in Zagreb (Croatia), as well as the Berlin Process which North Macedonia currently co-chairs together with Bulgaria. Also reviewing the regional situation, Jean Asselborn encouraged his interlocutors to continue their efforts to strengthen regional cooperation for the benefit of all citizens of the Western Balkans.

Minister Asselborn's discussions with the North Macedonian authorities also served to take stock of bilateral relations and to multiply mutually beneficial synergies, including those at the economic level.