May 5 (SeeNews) - The EU is ready to work with Macedonia's newly elected parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi in order to advance the implementation of the country's urgent reform priorities, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said after a meeting with Xhaferi, the EU diplomatic service announced.
The meeting in Brussels was part of Xhaferi's first official visit abroad, the European External Action Service said in a statement on Thursday.
Mogherini reaffirmed EU's support for Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian whose election as parliament speaker triggered an angry reaction from supporters of VMRO-DPMNE party. They stormed the parliament building last week, injuring several MPs and journalists.
"She [Federica Mogherini] welcomed the election of Talat Xhaferi as a President of the Assembly by the majority of MPs, stressing that this is a role that needs to be above party and inter-ethnic politics, with the President of the Assembly working for the benefit of all citizens and communities", according to the statement.
"The EU expects all political parties to engage constructively in the political process, including on government formation, and in the work of the new parliament," according to the statement.
Talat Xhaferi also met with enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, who said that Macedonia's "parliament must now be allowed to work unhindered".