Asselborn Addresses EU Accession with Macedonia's Foreign Minister

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, was in Luxembourg on Friday 20 April 2018 and met with Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, for a bilateral meeting at the Batiment Mansfeld.

Following the visit of Minister Asselborn to Skopje on 4 October 2017, and as next year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Minister Asselborn's discussions with his Macedonian counterpart first took stock of the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Emphasising with a single voice the very good relations - as evidenced in particular by the existence of several bilateral treaties in fields as diverse as social security, the mutual protection of investments and non-double taxation - the ministers welcomed excellent cooperation, as well as the support that the Grand Duchy brings to the country through technical assistance programmes aiming in particular at bringing the country closer to EU membership. The ministers' discussions provided an opportunity to review the possibilities of developing trade between the two countries and to increase mutually beneficial synergies, including on the economic level.

The discussions then focused on the internal political situation, before being devoted to the efforts of the Macedonian government in the process of joining the European Union, in the light of the report of the European Commission within the framework of the "enlargement package and its recommendation to launch accession negotiations with Skopje.

Calling this step "a major step forward in relations with the European Union", Minister Asselborn recalled that the enlargement policy benefits both the countries concerned, the entire Western Balkans region and the European Union. "The accession process makes our continent more democratic, more peaceful and an investment in security, prosperity and stability in Europe". With his Macedonian counterpart, the head of Luxembourg's diplomacy stressed the importance of the reform of the judicial branch, the independence of the media and the respect for the rule of law, as well as the country's cohesion, political and ethnic divisions. In this context, he welcomed the positive developments achieved by Skopje, encouraging the Government to continue its efforts towards progress.

Ministers also gave a thorough overview of the regional integration process before taking stock of the most pressing issues on the international agenda.​