North Macedonia – Visit by Nathalie Loiseau (Skopje, 26.02.2019)
European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau is in North Macedonia today. She is meeting with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and leading political officials, as well as students and representatives of Macedonian civil society.
These conversations will address our bilateral cooperation, which is already active in the economic sphere, but which we would like to expand further. In the cultural sphere, Ms. Loiseau and the Minister of Education and Science will sign an agreement on bilingual French-language sections in the country’s schools.
Ms. Loiseau will hail the entry in force of the Prespa agreement, which ends the more-than-quarter-century-long dispute with Greece and opens positive new prospects for North Macedonia and the entire region. The European Affairs Minister will reaffirm France’s hope that the Republic of North Macedonia will join the Atlantic Alliance in the near future. She will underscore our commitment to the region’s stability and our wish to strengthen our ties with the Western Balkans.
Ms. Loiseau will reiterate the French position on the rapprochement between the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans and will specifically emphasize the need for full compliance with the rule of law, which is central to European values, and for the continuation of reforms. France will continue its support for North Macedonia with this in mind.