Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth met Radmila Šekerinska, Defence Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, at the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, on 6 December. Their talks focused on the implementation of an ambitious reform agenda in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and on the Government’s positive steps in the region.  

Making further headway on Reform

Defence Minister Šekerinska outlined the current state of implementation and reaffirmed her country’s resolve to make further efforts so as to get closer to its goal of EU and NATO membership.

Minister of State Roth encouraged his colleague not to slacken in endeavours towards reform and to aim for concrete results. The fields of the rule of law and good governance are particularly important in this connection. He also assured her that the country could continue to rely on German Support

Positive signals to the region

Furthermore, Roth praised the positive signals the new Government had sent to its neighbours in the region since assuming office in June 2017. One key signal, he said, was the conclusion of the good-neighbourly relations agreement with Bulgaria, for which negotiations had been under way for a long time. Roth and Šekerinska agreed that the improvements in the atmosphere with Greece were also important for creating the trust needed for new movement on the unresolved issue of the country’s Name.