Today, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs Bojan Marichic participated in the expert round table "Regional Cooperation for European Integration", organized as part of the initiative "Balkan Dialogues", emphasizing in his speech stressed that regional cooperation is a reality and now, as never before, the region must unite to overcome the challenges we and the European Union face more easily.

The Deputy Prime Minister added that there is no alternative to fully fledged membership in the European Union and that we should start the negotiations as soon as possible, as we have done our part even more than expected; now is the time for the EU to make its next step forward.

"We need bold decisions to bring back into focus the most successful policy ever, and that is the enlargement one, taking into account the time spent waiting for the integration process of the Western Balkans to be activated," Marichic concluded.

In the panel entitled "The Dream and Reality of a European Region", Marichic said that both North Macedonia and Albania have chosen a side, and it is clear that they stand together with their Euro-Atlantic partners, as NATO members and aspirants for full EU membership, having achieved full compliance with the EU security and foreign policies.

“Nobody thought that, today and here, we will have to debate the ‘prospects for EU integration of the Western Balkans in times of crisis’, because the perspective usually must inevitably include peace and prosperity. Today, unfortunately, we are witnessing conflicts on European soil, with consequences not only for the European Union, but also for us, the countries in the region. This is why it is important to complete the unification of the continent, to make it stronger and more resistant to any current or future threats," Marichic said.