Steinmeier: Whether admission to the EU will be in 2030, no one can say, but reforms must continue

Press conference of German President Steinmeier/Photo: MIA

I wish that the accession process for North Macedonia would happen very quickly and that there would be no new obstacles, but the country's reform process must continue and you can count on support from Germany, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said today at the joint press conference with the head of the state of Stevo Pendarovski.

Regarding how realistic the plan of the Macedonian Government is for the country to become a member of the EU by 2030, Steinmeier said that he could not predict that.

- Will it be the year 2030, you must understand, no one can say that at the moment, neither the politicians from North Macedonia, nor from Germany, nor from the EU. No one can promise, but you should strive for it and the goal should be to strive to achieve this goal and it is present here. The reform process here in the country should move at the speed that is necessary in terms of accession to the EU, I hope that this will happen as quickly as possible, said Steinmeier.

When asked by a journalist how he sees the fact that "the Historical Commission is included in the accession negotiations", Steinmeier says that he already spoke about special conditions, that is, as he said, "special burdens" in the accession process.

- Under those burdens, I think that this accession process was also in the past connected with many historical issues and dealt with them, while when we talk about accession to the EU, we are actually talking about issues from the present and about the common future in Europe, so I would like just to advise – that the emphasis should be placed in that direction, not to the past and not to look for new obstacles, Steinmeier said.

The head of the German state also said that during his visit to the country, he will not only address the Parliament, but will also have a meeting with MPs from different political parties.

VIDEO: Steinmeier was welcomed in Skopje with the highest state and military honors

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