The MEPs that came to Skopje Thursday heard from Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski a new idea for resolving the name issue as soon as possible.

The group of MEPs including Greek MEP Jorgos Koumoutsakos openly stated that they came to put pressure on the Macedonian authorities to use the short period of time of a few months to iron out the name issue with Greece and start accession talks with the EU. German MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis said he was satisfied with the new idea Prime Minister Gruevski presented.

“I am glad I saw positive commitment to talks with Prime Minister Gruevski. Therefore we expect the coming weeks to produce results. We don’t want Balkanization of Europe, but Europeanization of the Balkans. Unless this opportunity is taken advantage of over the next 3-4 months, the delay is going to cause grave problems,” Chatzimarkakis said.

“We appeal to those taking decisions in Macedonia to speak in a single voice, to find a common stand and to jointly determine Macedonia’s position to the name issue. Doing this is very important. It is not easy, but when it comes to an issue of national interest for the country, it has to be done,” MEP Zoran Thaler said.