Minister-delegate Ciamba: Romania supports European, Euro-Atlantic path of Republic of Macedonia

Romania supports the European and Euro-Atlantic path of the Republic of Macedonia, Minister-delegate George Ciamba said on Tuesday at a meeting with senior officials from this country, a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry informs. 

Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba paid an official visit to the Republic of Macedonia on Tuesday, at the invitation of Bujar Osmani, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, and had consultations with Deputy Prime Minister Osmani, followed by meetings with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Dimitrov, as well as with the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs, Artan Grubi, with the participation of the members of this committee. 

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, during the talks with senior Macedonian officials, the Romanian official stressed that the advancement of the EU enlargement process, on the basis of its own merits, will be among the priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

The minister-delegate also referred to the regional events to be held during the presidency, mentioning the conference on youth in the Western Balkans that will focus on opportunities for young people, entrepreneurship and ways of meeting European aspirations, starting from the key role of young people in the democratic transformation of the region and reconciliation. 

The minister-delegate congratulated the authorities for the progress made last year, which led to the invitation to join NATO, as well as the European Commission's recommendation to open the accession negotiations. 

Minister-delegate George Ciamba encouraged all political actors in the Republic of Macedonia "to continue the dialogue and cooperation both in the implementation of the Prespa Agreement and in the comprehensive reform process in order to meet the necessary criteria with a view to the adoption by the Council of the European Union of the decision to launch accession negotiations with the EU in June 2019, respectively, the organization of the first accession conference by the end of 2019." 

Ciamba also reviewed the status of the bilateral relations, as well as the fast track of the political and diplomatic dialogue, the very good cooperation within the regional and international fora, as well as the constant increasing trend of the bilateral trade and highlighted the willingness of Romania to offer expertise and technical assistance for the EU and NATO accession processes, including through the Mobility Fund implemented by Romania's International Development Cooperation Agency.