The new German government has made clear in its coalition agreement that it supports the EU accession process of the six Western Balkan countries and believes that the first chapters with Northern Macedonia and Albania should be opened in the coming period, Germany's ambassador to the Republic of Northern Macedonia said. (PCM) Anke Holstein in an interview with the Macedonian edition of Deutsche Welle.
Anna Lirmann succeeds Michael Roth as Germany's Minister of State for Europe, and her first meeting will be with RSM Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov.
"I am firmly convinced that it is more than symbolic that the new Minister of State for Europe in the German Foreign Ministry Anna Lirmann will receive the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs of Northern Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov as the first foreign guest. "There are clear statements in the coalition agreement about our policy towards the Western Balkans, and this clarity is new."
According to her, the region has no alternative to EU membership.
"As confirmed in the coalition agreement, we see the future of the entire Western Balkans in the EU. Our foreign policy towards the Western Balkans is ongoing. With the Berlin Process, which began in 2014, we have an instrument that has taken regional cooperation and networks to a new, much higher level. "I mean the abolition of roaming, as well as the common economic space of the Western Balkans, which has not yet become a reality," Holstein said.
She says Macedonia has all the prerequisites to start accession talks.
"Germany and the European Commission, as well as almost all Member States, are working tirelessly to speed up the accession negotiations, and we all know what the stakes are.
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