Spaans voorzitterschap verwacht datum te prikken voor start toetredingsonderhandelingen met Macedonië (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Spaans voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2010 i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 20 april 2010.

The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who began a tour of the Balkans on Tuesday, is confident that, during the Spanish rotating Presidency of the EU, it will be possible 'to announce a date for beginning [Macedonia's] accession negotiations'.

After meeting Macedonia's head of diplomacy, Antonio Milososki, Mr Moratinos remarked, with regard to Macedonia's European prospects, that: 'we have put all of our energy, determination and ability into getting the negotiations started. I am convinced that this will happen before the end of the Spanish Presidency'.

In particular, he pointed out that 'both Skopje and the Greek side are making an effort to reach an agreement and resolve the conflict that is blocking Macedonia's integration'.

Macedonia has been a candidate for accession since 2005 and, last December, the EU announced that the date for beginning the negotiations should be set during these six months of the Spanish Presidency. But Greece is preventing negotiations from getting underway, owing to the dispute over the naming of the former Yugoslav republic. Athens believes that the name Macedonia belongs exclusively to the Hellenic tradition and fears that its use by the neighbouring country carries with it territorial ambitions.

Mr Milososki said that for the negotiations about the problem of the name to be a success, Greece and Macedonia need to speak discreetly and directly. Mr Moratinos pointed out, on the other hand, that Macedonia is a good example of a multicultural society and a positive case in the Western Balkans with regard to its relations with its neighbours.

In Skopje, Mr Moratinos met the country's president, Gjorge Ivanov, and the prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, before travelling to Belgrade, where he will meet his Serbian counterpart, Vuk Jeremic, and his Turkish opposite number, Ahmed Davutoglu. He will also meet the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, and will end the tour in Montenegro on Wednesday.