Macedonia’s European integration is the main national priority and strategic goal of the country. We are dedicated to the EU agenda. However, we are continuously being told that Macedonia cannot begin membership negotiations because the EU wants to have a clean file and keep peace at home. The Union should no longer wait to launch accession talks with us because opening negotiations will be a catalyst for the resolution of the name issue, said Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in his speech delivered at the European office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels before representatives of the European Union, ambassadors, diplomats, and journalists of world media.

He underlined on that occasion that the rule of law was a fundamental value of the EU and that all member states should act in accordance with international law and the undertaken legal responsibilities.

“The International Court of Justice decided that the Greek block of Macedonia’s NATO integration was illegal and in breach of the bilateral agreement signed in 1995. This decision clearly justifies our position and our right to use the constitutional name of our country and to join international organizations such as the EU and NATO under the provisional reference. Greece did not act in keeping with the judgment of the Court in The Hague and therefore we wonder what the role of international law is,” the prime minister said.