The year has started with some good news: on Friday, Skopje’s Parliament voted – with a large majority – to modify the Constitution and change the country’s name to “Republic of North Macedonia,” as agreed last summer with Greece. It is the demonstration that, with courage and determination, even the longest conflicts can come to an end. And it is a decisive step forward for North Macedonia on the path towards the European Union. Now it is for the Greek Parliament to move forward, and then for the heads of government of the Union: it is time to open negotiations for the accession of North Macedonia – and of Albania, too – to our Union. Here is my statement.
Last Tuesday I also met with the delegation appointed by Kosovo’s Parliament for dialogue with Serbia: a sign of their willingness to resume the path towards a normalisation of relations between Pristina and Belgrade. Press release here.
During the week I spoke with the new UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, to confirm Europe’s support to his work and invite him to Brussels (press release here), and I met with the President of the Emirati Parliament, Amal al Qubaisi.
On behalf of the Twenty-eight, I reacted to the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro’s new mandate in Venezuela – a mandate stemming from elections that were neither free nor democratic. Here is our declaration.