Ursula von der Leyen to visit Tirana, Pristina, Podgorica and Skopje from 30 Sept to 2 Oct

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel across the Western Balkans from 30 September to 2 October, visiting Tirana, Pristina, Podgorica and Skopje as part of a regional tour, Brussels announced.

Her agenda will centre on the countries' European path, the process of gradual integration and the EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, a Commission spokesperson said. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not included in this visit because of elections, though Brussels says visits to both will follow in the coming period.

Focus on next steps for accession and EU-funded projects

"As the President of the EU–Western Balkans Summit said this June, our Union will not be complete without the Western Balkans. Therefore, in her talks she will focus on the next steps on the European path of our partners and on the current progress in gradual integration, supported by our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. During this visit, President von der Leyen will visit Tirana, Pristina, Podgorica and Skopje. There she will meet with heads of state and government and will visit EU-funded projects," said Ariana Podesta, spokesperson of the European Commission.

The announcement revived debate in Skopje about the pace and political conditions of North Macedonia's EU path. "Relations with the Republic of North Macedonia are becoming increasingly difficult and worse, because today in North Macedonia there is no sincerity. Where does the country want to go? If the idea is to go to the European Union, the two main political parties must agree on this issue. And find this public, political, societal consensus in their country. And what we see is exactly the opposite. Regression and withdrawal. This is not in anyone’s interest, it is not in Bulgaria’s interest. Because we want to border countries that belong to our value system," said Ilhan Kyuchuk, Member of the European Parliament and former rapporteur for North Macedonia.

In Sofia, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Zoran Dimitrovski spoke at the forum "Europe meets the Balkans" and denied reports that Macedonian politicians had been instructed to speak English while in Bulgaria. "I can speak in my mother tongue, Macedonian, I can also speak Bulgarian which I master, but what matters is that we understand each other and what I will say. Macedonia has no problem with Bulgarians becoming part of the Constitution. On the contrary, we prepared an action plan for the protection of smaller ethnic communities, including Bulgarians, and we are ready to implement it. But we also expect our neighbour to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and to register civil associations of Macedonians," Dimitrovski said.

Yesterday, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told a Bulgarian outlet that Skopje should fulfil the agreed commitments, and that once North Macedonia implements constitutional changes, Sofia should give its support so the accession process can continue.

Photo: press material from the event