Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of European Affairs Dr. Fatmir Besimi paid a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain where he met with the President of the Spanish Senate, Pio Garcia Escudero, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil, and the President of the Congress of Deputies, Jesus Maria Posada Moreno.

At these meetings, Besimi talked about the progress of the Republic of Macedonia in the implementation of the requirements of the European Commission and the obtaining of a Recommendation to start the accession negotiations with the EU, for the fifth time this year, Besimi said that this is an indicator of the country's commitment in meeting the conditions for EU membership.
Deputy Prime Minister Besimi stressed that Republic of Macedonia is committed to building and fostering good neighbourly relations. In the case of the open issue with Greece, Besimi added that greater engagement by both sides and involvement of the international community is needed in order to quickly reach a mutually acceptable solution between the two countries, which would open the way for Macedonia to start of the negotiations with the Union. That is of benefit to the whole region and the EU.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil noted that Spain is a supporter of Macedonia's EU integration and EU enlargement in the Western Balkans.
The President of the Spanish Senate, Pio Garcia Escudero, in regard to High Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD), said that through this tool the Republic of Macedonia, in the period while the open name issue is resolved, will not be halted, but will work on the implementation of the reforms for EU accession.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil, and the President of the Congress of Deputies, Jesus Maria Posada Moreno at the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister Besimi, both stressed the need to further increase the economic cooperation between the two countries and the fostering of good bilateral relations through exchange of experience in the field of culture, education, judiciary, the fight against corruption and the use of European funds.