Naumovski: The gathering of leaders in Skopje an opportunity for the region to demonstrate that it can collaborate even without the EU

The gathering of regional leaders in Skopje, hosted by the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, is a good opportunity to demonstrate that the Western Balkans can collaborate independently of the European Union, according to a professor and a political analyst Vasko Naumovski. He says for Kosovo Online that any initiative that involves enhanced communication and cooperation among regional countries is welcome.

In Skopje, a meeting of regional leaders will be held regarding the EU's Plan for the Growth of the Western Balkans, worth six billion euros, with the presence of representatives from Brussels, including the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O’Brien.

Naumovski, a former Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Ambassador to the United States of North Macedonia states that considering our shared future lies in the full membership of all countries in the EU, it is essential to welcome anything that can contribute to achieving that goal, especially initiatives requiring increased economic cooperation among Balkan countries, such as the Open Balkan initiative.

I believe that the regional leaders will understand that the future of our citizens lies in the EU, and we need to leave behind all divisions, hatred, and negative energy—everything that, unfortunately, characterizes the Balkans and has marked the past decades. The path to European integration is, in fact, a path to increased cooperation, better infrastructure, and increased exchange of ideas, population, and workforce, which is one of the initiatives of these meetings to be held in North Macedonia. I am confident that with the support of the EU and our friends from the US, we will be able to demonstrate concrete results in these fields in the foreseeable future", Naumovski emphasizes.

Regarding the meeting dedicated to the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, Naumovski highlights that all the ideas of the Balkan leaders for the ultimate stabilization of the region are compatible with EU ideas.

"Unfortunately, the EU enlargement is not currently high on the agenda, but we need to complete a part of the work ourselves. To show that we are capable of cooperating even without the EU, and that we can fulfill all these essential membership criteria ourselves so that when the time comes to negotiate, we can formally meet those negotiations, shorten the negotiation period, and become a part of the EU as soon as possible," Naumovski concludes.