Brussels, 17 June 2015 (MIA) – At a meeting in the European Commission on Wednesday, Deputy PM Fatmir Besimi was presented with a report of reforms that should be implemented urgently in Macedonia prior to the EC progress report, set to be released this October.

After the meeting, Besimi told MIA that EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn had handed him the EC conclusions regarding the latest developments in Macedonia that are also based on an analysis made by Reinhard Priebe, who has served as director at the EU Enlargement Directorate.

During a meeting with Commissioner Hahn, Besimi was told to urge the political leaders in Macedonia to abide by the Skopje agreement, which was brokered by Hahn himself and signed on June 2, and to be used as the foundation for reaching a final agreement so as to put an end to the political crisis in the country.

“EU Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn handed me a report for the Republic of Macedonia with urgent measures, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the EU General Affairs Council next week,” Besimi said speaking to MIA’s correspondent in Brussels.

The report, according to Besimi, is several pages long and covers several areas, first and foremost independence of the judiciary, adequate reforms that are necessary in the state security services, reforms related to the electoral process and freedom of the media and expression. “The EC report is updated with the latest developments in the country that also includes an analysis by the EC expert Reinhard Priebe highlighting the priorities, which need to be fulfilled by Macedonia as soon as possible,” the Macedonian Deputy PM stressed.

Also on Wednesday, Besimi met with MEPs Eduard Kukan, Ivo Vajgl and Richard Howitt as well as with EC officials Christian Danielsson and Jean-Eric Paquet. “The main point of the meetings I have held in Brussels today is that the EU is seriously concerned about the events in Macedonia related to its political situation,” he said adding that his interlocutors had called for restoring focus on EU integration reforms and political dialogue.

“Macedonia in Brussels has the support to implement EU integration reforms, however they want to see concrete steps being made and to see success being made in view of political dialogue. They consider the June 2 agreement to be valid and urge the political parties to stay focused on implementing this document, which is of key importance for the reform process in Macedonia paving the way toward EU integration,” Besimi concluded.

Johannes Hahn’s office has issued a press release after his meeting with Deputy PM Besimi saying they discussed the current political crisis in the country, with a view to support progress in the dialogue of political parties involved.

“The Commissioner repeated his call addressed to all parties – in the interest of their country and its citizens – to find a lasting political compromise, building on the agreement they had already reached on 2 June. They also discussed the urgent reform priorities for the country, which the Commission will monitor closely in coming months,” reads the press release. ba/19:24