Macedonia should already be in the EU, Hungary is your honest friend on that path, Boca said
EU enlargement with the Western Balkans and Macedonia’s integration into the Union is an unfinished process. Macedonia should already be in the EU. Macedonia needs the EU, but also the EU and needs Macedonia. Hungary is your honest friend on that path-Hungary’s Minister of EU Affairs Janos Boka said at a joint press conference in Skopje with his host for European Affairs Orhan Murtezani.
– There is a strong strategic partnership between Hungary and Northern Macedonia that is based on shared values and replacement interests, and that applies to issues of the European integration process. During the Hungarian EU Presidency, we tried and managed to put enlargement in the foreground, helped to adopt the country’s reform agenda, as well as the entrance to the SEP- the only area of euro payments, which would also be a great step for Northern Macedonia-
He recalled that the two governments had already held joint intergovernmental sessions in Ohrid and Burimpest, and a new step in bilateral relations between the two countries is, and today’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding that should help the country in order to harmonize European legislation and effective use of European funds.
Minister Murtezani, for his part, noted that Macedonia and Hungary are linked to deep friendly links, and bilateral cooperation is gaining even more intense dynamics with today’s signing of the memorandum. Hungary, he said, has long been grateful for loud support for our EU integration path and underlined that we particularly appreciate its role as chair of the EU Council, given that it was during the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council last year and the EU enlargement and EU integration.
– Minister Boca Your Constant Loud and Principal Support for Integration of Northern Macedonia and the Western Balkans in the Union is a real example of friendship in practice as soon as possible. The crown of that dedication is today’s signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation that sets a solid framework for long -term and structured partnerships in the field of European integration. With the signing of this memorandum of our already close cooperation and we give an institutional dimension and a stable framework. This document is not only a formalized administrative tool but is an expression of our mutual commitment to deepening the partnership through the exchange of knowledge, experiences and joint efforts towards the adoption of European standards. With this step, Northern Macedonia and Hungary once again show that Europe is not only geography and bureaucracy but common values and that EU enlargement policy is one of the most important strategic goals that draws its appeal and transformative power from unification – as an essential European concept of solidarity, connections and a common future.
He added that we are ready to learn from the Hungarian European integration experience and that as a government that already has perceived structures to coordinate the European integration process within the negotiation process will use this partnership as a more fulfilling motive to accelerate our European integration.
Minister Boca held a lecture at the Skopje University yesterday, noting that the European Union is in front of a new era and that changes are needed to adapt the new reality.
Following the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation, the next phase will be to determine the work plan for the activities and determination of the projects on which the two sides will be finalized at the next meeting in Budapest.
