Luxembourg, North Macedonian Foreign Ministers Address EU Accession, COVID-19 Pandemic

On Wednesday 10 February 2021, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, undertook a working visit to Luxembourg.

During his visit, Minister Bujar Osmani met with his Luxembourgish counterpart, Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy, at Senningen Castle.

During their meeting, the two foreign ministers took stock of bilateral relations and their development prospects. Luxembourg currently supports North Macedonia on its path of European integration through technical assistance programmes, in particular in cooperation with the Luxembourg-based European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). In addition to its support through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developmen (EBRD), the Grand Duchy also contributes financially to the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Ministers Jean Asselborn and Bujar Osmani then had an in-depth discussion on the process of North Macedonia's accession to the European Union (EU). Luxembourg's Foreign Minister welcomed the "courageous reforms" implemented by North Macedonia and encouraged the country to continue in this direction.

Minister Jean Asselborn also reiterated Luxembourg's support for the launch of accession negotiations and for the organisation of a first intergovernmental conference with the Republic of North Macedonia. He described the process of accession to the EU as a "guarantor of democracy and peace for the European continent" and called for strengthened efforts to overcome the current deadlock.

Regarding regional developments in the Western Balkans, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister expressed concern about certain nationalist tendencies. He and his North Macedonian counterpart also discussed the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the region.

The two ministers concluded their meeting with an exchange of views on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Jean Asselborn recalled the EU's support for the countries of the Western Balkans, in particular through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) mechanism.