"Macedonia should move without delay to the next phase of EU accession negotiations, fulfilling the commitments already undertaken, including constitutional amendments."
This is the recommendation adopted by the MEPs and the MEPs of the Republic of Macedonia at the EU-Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, which met in Strasbourg. The Committee was chaired by Ivanka Vasilevska, MEP from VMRO-DPMNE, and Carlo Resler from the European Parliament.
The second recommendation categorically states that enlargement should continue within the framework of the Copenhagen criteria, based on the principle of own merits and the fulfilled criteria, including the adoption of constitutional amendments, i.e. the inclusion of Bulgarians. The European Parliament rapporteur for Macedonia, Thomas Weitz, also made a statement in this regard.
"The next phase of the accession negotiations should take place without undue delay and as soon as the relevant conditions set by the Council have been met; in this regard, the Committee calls for decisive steps to advance the negotiation process in line with the EU negotiating framework and to implement previously undertaken commitments, including the agreed constitutional amendments; welcomes the further development of the gradual integration of the candidate countries into the EU, but stresses that this is not and cannot be an alternative to a credible path towards full membership," the Committee's recommendation states.
In the document with 23 recommendations, the Committee also emphasizes the importance of Macedonia maintaining good relations with its neighbors, by respecting the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Treaty of Friendship with Bulgaria.
