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Nimitz: The EU made a historic mistake by not quickly moving forward with North Macedonia’s accession to the Union

by AI | 01.Jul 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The European Union, I think, made a historic mistake by not moving quickly in the accession of North Macedonia to the Union. Promises were made. There were expectations in North Macedonia that once the dispute with Greece was resolved, done with Prespa and with constitutional changes, which was very difficult for them to do, the accession process would move quickly. And that did not happen. It was delayed for various reasons. And, you can explain it this way or that way, but it led to an erosion of trust in North Macedonia. Expectations were not like that, said Nimetz.

Interview with the former special envoy of the UN Secretary-General in the name talks between Skopje and Athens, Matthew Nimetz for the Greek portal "In". Photo: MIA

Athens – The European Union made a historical mistake by delaying the accession process of North Macedonia despite promises and expectations after the Prespa Agreement, said former special envoy of the UN Secretary-General in the name negotiations Matthew Nimetz in an interview with the Greek news portal “In”, according to the MIA correspondent from Athens.

Nimetz participated in the International Conference for Peace and Sustainable Development held on June 17-18 in Athens organized by the “Alexis Tsipras Institute” and the “Zaev Foundation”, and in the interview with “In” he talks about the Prespa Agreement, the situation in the region and beyond, but also about the role of the EU. 

– The European Union, I think it made a historical mistake by not moving quickly in the accession of North Macedonia to the Union. Promises were made. There were expectations in North Macedonia that once the dispute with Greece was resolved, done with Prespa and the constitutional changes, which was very difficult for them to do, then the accession process would move quickly. And that did not happen. It was delayed for various reasons. And, you can explain it in this way or that, but it led to an erosion of trust in North Macedonia. The expectations were not met, said Nimetz. 

Regarding the Prespa Agreement, he emphasizes that it is a “really important and very good agreement for both countries”, but also a compromise, and in the specific region, as he points out, “no one likes compromises”.

– In the US the word compromise is a positive word. If you disagree with someone, you go into another room, come out and say a compromise has been reached and everyone is very happy. In this region, you say a compromise has been made, and people see it as a failure. They see what you’ve given up on, not what you’ve gained. And all these agreements, of course, if you come to an agreement on a disagreement, it is usually a compromise. And now we have a situation, where initially the leadership of North Macedonia made some statements about the use of the name, which I find disturbing, said Nimetz.

He assesses that the Agreement will not fail, because, as he says it is “strong and ratified by both parliaments”, but points out that there is a risk it may not be implemented.

– The new leadership of North Macedonia stated that it will respect the Agreement. And Mitsotakis’ government here in Greece said from the beginning that it is an international Agreement and that it will respect it. So, I think there is no question of the Agreement failing, but there is a risk people will not implement it and it will fail at the margins. So, one side will not do this, the other will not do that and in the end, the expectations that it will bring the two countries closer will not be realized, Nimetz pointed out. 

Regarding the region, he said that there are “more problems than we think”, which are not at the level of Ukraine or the Middle East or the rivalry between the US and China, but can get out of control in that region. (June 29)