Marta Kos urges North Macedonia to change its constitution to advance EU bid
Kos calls this an "autumn of enlargement" but says North Macedonia must change its constitution and meet commitments to move forward with EU accession.
The European Commission expects North Macedonia to implement the constitutional changes it agreed to, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said in an interview with Bulgarian public broadcaster BNT.
Kos described this autumn as an "autumn of enlargement" and said the current moment could be used to push forward North Macedonia's EU integration — but only if the country fulfils its commitments.
"I will be very happy if we use this moment of enlargement also for North Macedonia. I believe in the new Bulgarian government with which I work very well. All of us together will find a way to advance the process also for North Macedonia. Of course, the North Macedonian government will have to fulfil the promise. They should change the Constitution. This is agreed between North Macedonia and the 27 member states of the European Union. Once that is done, I will count on support from your state to move forward also with North Macedonia," Kos said.
Roadmaps for the frontrunners
The commissioner confirmed that, as President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the previous day, new roadmaps are being prepared for those candidate countries that are furthest ahead in accession talks.
Kos pointed out that Montenegro is closest to membership, while roadmaps with possible technical steps are being prepared for Albania, Moldova and Ukraine to advance before the end of the current Commission's mandate.
She said progress by these countries could spur others — including North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo — to accelerate their path to the EU. Kos also recalled that the last enlargement took place in 2013 with Croatia's accession and noted that the Union is again placing enlargement high on its agenda.
Von der Leyen, however, gave a more reserved assessment in her speech to the European Parliament, placing enlargement with the Western Balkans on a later page while reiterating that the process remains merit-based; she also invited Canada to become an associate partner of the EU.
Photo: press material from the event
