Portugal is giving Macedonia full support in its Euro-Atlantic integration. Our position is identical with that of the EU and the UN. The so-called name issue should be resolved as soon as possible because our main objective is for Macedonia to begin negotiations for full-fledge membership as soon as possible, said the Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal Pedro Lourtie.

He paid a visit to Macedonia Tuesday and met with Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Vasko Naumovski and Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki. Mr. Lourtie stressed that Macedonia made big progress in carrying out the reforms and in meeting the criteria for membership of the EU and NATO.

Lourtie commented also on the six percent drop in civil support for Macedonia’s EU membership. Both he and Deputy Prime Minister Naumovski believe that the economic crisis is not yet over and that the process of reform for membership is difficult.

“This is not the case only in Macedonia. It is commonplace to have various perceptions of the situation. But once you take the path of reforms, the perception of joining the EU will be different. The percentage of trust is declining in the EU too, but our job is to work continuously on raising that trust and the standard of living,” Lourtie explained.

After meeting the Portuguese official, Naumovski commented on Slovenian President Danilo Turk’s recent statement that the focus of the EU should shift from the Western Balkans to the eastern neighboring countries and Russia. He says the expansion is not part of the foreign policy of the EU, but is of a more important politics.

“The enlargement process, despite the various announcements, remains high on the list of priorities of the EU. The European future of the countries of the Western Balkans has been strongly confirmed,” the deputy prime minster said.

Foreign Minister Milososki’s office said that Minister Milososki and State Secretary Lourtie talked about the bilateral cooperation between the two countries and the possibilities for its promotion primarily in the economic field, the need for promoting the political dialogue multilaterally and the activities aiming to promote cooperation in all areas of shared interest. Milososki expressed hope that Portugal would back the setting of a date for opening accession talks between Macedonia and the EU.

A branch of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce will be opened in Macedonia in October this year whereby conditions will be created for promoting further the economic cooperation. According to Lourtie, there are Portuguese companies interested in investing in Macedonia.