The process of Macedonia's accession to the EU must be decided by Europe

 

 US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said he had talked with France, which took over the six-month presidency of the European Union on January 1st, so that the Republic of Macedonia could start EU accession talks as soon as possible. the Skopje newspaper Sloboden Pechat quoted him as saying.

 "We have already talked to France. We have made it clear that we believe that EU membership is essential for all of us in the Western Balkans. We believe that they are part of Europe, we believe that by meeting the conditions, by closing our heads, they need to be more integrated into the EU, and we believe that this will be a good solution for all countries. "Every country that joins the EU has become more democratic, more prosperous and more stable," he said.

 According to him, the process of Macedonia's accession to the EU must be decided by Europe. "However, he added, we strongly support Macedonia's EU bid, we believe a lot has been done, it is already a European country, a culturally and historically European country. "Therefore, we want to see the process start as soon as possible," Escobar said.

He also added that he believes the EU has not disappointed  Macedonia as it continues to help.

"I believe we will reach an appropriate agreement in a very short period of time. "We will work on it," he assured.

 "There is no change in the position of the United States. We believe that both countries have done their job, that both countries are moving in the right direction, that both countries have a European focus and orientation, and we want to see them together. We want to see them move together quickly, "Escobar said.