European Commissioner for enlargement Stefan Fule, in a written statement issued on Thursday, said that resolving the name dispute remained a key issue for the accession prospects of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
The Commissioner's statement was issued after a meeting in Brussels with FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski."I have welcomed the competitive, transparent and well administered parliamentary elections of 5 June, especially as regards the election day itself. Now we are looking forward to a smooth process of government formation. It is important for the country to get back to work", Fule said.
"We agreed on the next steps in the EU-related reforms: effective implementation of the reform of public administration and of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, and ensuring freedom of expression of the media. I stressed that it is also very important that the work on the Ohrid Framework Agreement and the Roma moves forward".
Fule reaffirmed that the Commission stands ready to support the new government in these areas and a number of meetings have been agreed in the coming weeks to work together on these priorities.
He noted that 2011 could be a year of opportunity for the enlargement process in the Western Balkans. "We want to make sure that Skopje is among those countries in the region that are leading the way towards deeper EU integration. The European Commission made a recommendation to start accession negotiations in October 2009. This recommendation is still in force and for it to continue to be valid the country needs to continue making progress on the necessary reforms.That is why resolving the name issue remains essential. Both sides should continue to be engaged, either under the auspices of the UN, or through direct talks".
