TIRANA (Albania), December 19 (SeeNews) – Western Balkans leaders expressed their support for the Prespa agreement for resolving Macedonia’s name issue and for reaching a comprehensive legally binding settlement in the context of the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, the EU's diplomatic service said on Wednesday.
“They also committed to work to further the region's integration in the EU in a spirit of good neighbourly relations and reconciliation,” the EU External Action Service said in a statement, following an informal meeting between EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Western Balkans leaders in Brussels.
Federica Mogherini stressed that the Western Balkan partners now more than ever should work together to advance the shared objective of the EU integration, to consolidate peace and security and to invest in further regional cooperation, for the benefit of all the people in the region.
“Looking back at the important progress made in the region in 2018, leaders agreed with the High Representative on the need to build on this progress and to continue to focus on their respective European Union paths and the necessary internal reforms, in view of achieving progress in time for the June 2019 Council,” the statement reads.
Earlier this month, Macedonia's parliament endorsed an amendment to the constitution for changing the name of the former Yugoslav republic to North Macedonia. The amendment, enshrining into the constitution the agreement with neighbouring Greece signed in Prespa earlier this year, aims to open the way for Macedonia to join NATO and the EU.
Athens has blocked Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU for 27 years over the country's name. According to Greece, the current name Republic of Macedonia implies territorial claims on the Greek northernmost province of the same name.
The EU-facilitated talks for normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina began in March 2011. Serbia claims Kosovo as its southern province under UN administration, and does not recognise its independence. Kosovo considers Serbia as a neighboring state.