Macedonia, Austria sign action plan for cooperation in 2017

Macedonia and Austria have signed an action plan for cooperation in 2017, the two nations' foreign ministers announced here in a joint press conference Monday.

The agreement, signed by Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Poposki, covers several areas such as European Union(EU) integration, cooperation as part of the Berlin Process, a diplomatic initiative on the future enlargement of the EU, and also as part of Austria's upcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2017.

Austria's top diplomat reiterated the strong support that the nation will continue to provide to Macedonia's EU integration bid, noting that the holding of free elections and strengthening of the rule of law were crucial to Macedonian development.

Macedonia should hold free and democratic elections on Dec. 11 as well as implement urgent reform priorities because these two processes will help Macedonia to get back on its path to the opening of negotiations for EU membership, Kurz said.

For his part, Poposki said Macedonia's EU integration process is deemed highly important and the country's top priority.

Kurz also praised Macedonia's role in coping with the migrant crisis that significantly reduced the pressure at the Austrian border. Enditem