Siljanovska-Davkova meets von der Leyen in Skopje: the Skopje–Sofia dispute can be overcome with intensive meetings and dialogue

The President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, met this evening at Villa Vodno in Skopje with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as part of her tour of the Western Balkans, as the president’s official website reports. According to the reports, von der Leyen conveyed the message that the Skopje–Sofia dispute can be overcome with intensive meetings and dialogue.

Siljanovska-Davkova thanked the EU and von der Leyen personally for the growing interest in and commitment to the region. She said that, although the country is not formally among the Western Balkan states with the greatest progress, through its technical readiness and geopolitical alignment with European foreign and security policy it deserves to be with them and not on a secondary track. The reason for the absence, according to her, is the priority given to the imposed bilateral dispute over the Copenhagen criteria, the announcement on the president’s official website stresses.

The President expressed her firm conviction that guaranteeing the same opportunities as for Ukraine and Moldova would strengthen institutional readiness and renew trust and motivation for Europeanisation. She recalled the need to hold a political Intergovernmental Conference under the new methodology and the Negotiating Framework, as well as a regular meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council, the president’s official website reports.

For her part, von der Leyen said that North Macedonia’s place is in the Union, which will continue to support it on its reform and Euro-integration path, assessing the reforms so far as impressive.