Murtezani – Sanino: To take advantage of the EU enlargement process dynamism in the current geopolitical context

Brussels – The European perspective of the country and the situation in the Western Balkans region were the main topics of the meeting in Brussels between the Minister for European Affairs, Orhan Murtazani, and the Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Stefano Sannino.

At the meeting, which concluded Murtazani’s working visit to Brussels, he raised several key issues essential for North Macedonia’s European dossier and for strengthening its alignment with EU standards and policies.

In the discussions, the importance of using the renewed momentum to energize the EU enlargement process in the current geopolitical context was emphasized, as a project that will contribute to strengthening the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkan countries.

Murtazani also expressed gratitude for the financial support from the European Peace Facility (EPF) for the country amounting to 13 million euros, which will help modernize its defense capacities and contribute more to EU security initiatives. He also highlighted the importance of the upcoming partnership agreement between North Macedonia and the EU in the field of defense and security, which will make the country one of the first to sign such a document with the Union.

Sannino, on his part, welcomed North Macedonia’s full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, confirming the country’s strategic European orientation and respect for the fundamental principles and values of the Union’s foreign policy.

During the two-day working visit to Brussels, Murtazani also met with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy, Oliver Varhelyi, with the Director General of the Directorate for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission (DG NEAR), Gert Jan Koopman, with the Director for the Western Balkans at DG NEAR, Valentina Supperti, and with the Head of the Albania and North Macedonia Department at DG NEAR, Sigrid Brettel, with whom he discussed the ongoing European integration process of the country, the steps ahead for further progress, as well as the implementation of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans of the European Commission and the related Reform Agenda. (September 6)