The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Bojan Maricik, met today with the Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, Minister of Federal, European and International Affairs of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

At the meeting with Minister Holthoff-Pförtner, the Deputy Prime Minister Maricik expressed gratitude to the German government for its dedication to North Macedonia’s European perspective, particularly in times of geo-political challenges that the continent is facing.

- This is a very important visit for us, because I consider it as a signal of dedication by the Federal Republic of Germany to EU enlargement with the countries in the region. Now it’s time for leadership and we expect strong support for the Western Balkan countries, because the future of the region is in the European Union and this must be reiterated and confirmed as soon as possible, said Deputy Prime Minister Maricik at the meeting.

Minister Holthoff-Pförtner reaffirmed the country’s reform progress and that North Macedonia has long deserved the start of negotiations with the Union. He expressed hope that negotiations with Bulgaria will be successful, as well as with Greece and in times of global challenges, together they’ll be able to show that the European Union is the only option for the countries in the region.

Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Maricik focused on our partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany, that is primarily reflected in the continuous assistance for our country to reach the European standards in the areas covered by the negotiations chapters, particularly the standards pertaining to the rule of law, but also to introduce new opportunities for partnership with the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

At the end of the meeting, Maricik and Holthoff-Pförtner agreed that the positive signals sent by the EU to the country are welcomed, but also concrete measures by the EU are necessary, particularly considering the instability caused by the war in Ukraine, which is in fact war against free Europe.