PM Nikola Gruevski on Thursday met with French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche. Macedonia’s PM assured Lellouche that despite Greece's objection to Macedonia's EU, NATO membership, the Government has been working on the modernizing the society and meeting the EU membership standards. The government is trying to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute, imposed by Greece, within the UN-sponsored process.
Lellouche also met with Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Deputy PM for European Affairs Vasko Naumovski.
During Thursday’s joint press conference with Deputy PM for European Affairs Vasko Naumovski, Lellouche stated that France supports Macedonia on the road to Euro-integration and wants the country to assume its deserving spot in the EU, since this is in the interest of regional stabilization and the Union. The name dispute with Greece is an issue that two sovereign states need to settle, stressed French Minister Lellouche.