Hahn: Citizens of Macedonia should choose between EU membership and isolation


The citizens of Macedonia should decide whether they will become part of the European Union or return to isolation, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, told reporters on Monday.

It’s up to the citizens of Macedonia to either choose isolation, from which the country barely manged to pull out, or the EU integration and better living standard, Hahn said Monday after an informal meeting of heads of government of the Western Balkan countries in Durres, Albania.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Marovic commended the Macedonia-Greece (name) agreement, labeling it as a great achievement. He also underlined the need for supporting Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

At the informal meeting, prime ministers of the Western Balkan countries pledged to speed up efforts to create a joint economic zone ahead of their integration into the European Union.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev was forced to cancel his trip because of poor weather conditions. Prime Ministers of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina did not come, sending senior officials instead.