Macedonia should continue communicating with Greece regarding the name issue but should not forget about the reforms if it wishes to progress in its European integration process. This is the German response to Macedonia’s appeals for support for its integration into the EU and NATO.

“Maintain the bilateral dialogue with Greece. See if there is a chance for that dialogue to produce results and take that chance. At the same time, carry out the reforms at home the way the European Commission instructs you to. Keep your file and your achievements on a high level in Brussels, because, after all, that is always a strong argument that cannot be overseen,” said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki.

Westerwelle’s position is that if both processes, the reforms and the dialogue over the name, take place simultaneously and if they encourage one another they can be very productive.

In his view, the current moment is perhaps not the most favorable moment so that Macedonia can get what it deserves, yet what keeps Macedonia on the agenda of the European Union is the reforms and they are indispensable in order to make headway under certain other more favorable circumstances.

At his bilateral meeting with Mr. Westerwelle, Minister Milososki appealed again for the application of the Slovenian-Croatian approach to unblock Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. In other words, he insisted that the processes of integration and name issue talks be carried out in parallel and encourage each other.

Milososki’s meeting with Westerwelle took place on the sidelines of the regular session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe celebrating the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights.