Slovakia is on the side of North Macedonia in the integration process. This is the message of Slovak President Peter Pelegrini during his official visit to Skopje, where he was received with high state honors by the country's President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova. Pelegrini sent harsh tones to the European Union about blocking Macedonia's European integration path.
"The EU is taking risks with this process. We, as Slovakia, are on your side and will support you in all possible ways because we believe that the future of the EU lies in enlargement, while part of all that is security, especially in this region, and I am convinced that you have a strong place in the EU. The country's integration into the EU should not be misused with such political disputes. I agree with the statement that the integration process of your country should be based only on fulfilling the criteria and no country should misuse it, just so that it can deal with its own issues and thereby slow down the accession process, which is almost a kind of blackmail," declared Peter Pellegrini, president of Slovakia.
Siljanovska reiterated the country's official stance that the integration process should be based on merit and that a political vacuum should not be allowed to be created to influence other countries.
"I am very pleased that we both share the position that enlargement must be based on the Copenhagen criteria, from which we must not deviate. That is, it must be based on merit and based on results. It must not depend on additional politically irrational conditions, which in a way usurp the process of European integration. The best solution to prevent any vacuum or political influence from third parties is to reintegrate into the European Union. To have clear guarantees that we have a place there," said Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, President of Macedonia.
During the meeting, the presidents signed a Memorandum of Understanding on economic cooperation between the two countries.
