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Macedonia receives conditional recommendation to start EU accession talks

Xinhua, November 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Commission extended its recommendation that Macedonia start the accession negotiations for EU membership on Tuesday, but on the condition that the country fully implement the agreement signed by the political parties with the intent to end the political crisis.

The Commission said the recommendation was made "in light of the progress made so far in the implementation of the June-July political agreement," as well as the understanding there be substantial progress made in the implementation of the urgent reform priorities.

The Commission outlined it still had concerns about political interference in state institutions, such as the judiciary and the media, and the country's electoral process.

"This issue shall be addressed again after the elections," stressed the Commission in its newest progress report and enlargement strategy paper published on Tuesday in Brussels.

This is the seventh consecutive recommendation for Macedonia to open EU accession negotiations, but so far the European Council hasn't followed the Commission's recommendation and hasn't managed to reach a unanimous decision to start negotiations with the country.

"This year was filled with many serious challenges. The country faced the most serious political crisis since 2001. I think that it is time to fully implement the political agreement in good faith and take upon urgent reform priorities," the EU Ambassador here, Aivo Orav, stated after the report was published.

Orav presented the report to Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov.

For Macedonian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Poposki, it is important the country uphold the recommendation to start the accession negotiations with the EU.

The progress report for the Western Balkans "is a strong motive for us to continue all the engagement both in the area of the political dialogue and in the reforms. It is understandable that the full implementation of the political dialogue will be one of the conditions that the European Commission will monitor closely and it will determine any future evaluation," Poposki said on Tuesday in Brussels.

The Macedonian opposition party, SDSM, also saw the need to follow the recommendation so as to reestablish trust in the country's political machine. Endit