The EU Council of Ministers must follow the European Commission recommendation and immediately determine a date for start of accession negotiations over Macedonia's Union membership, says Romanian Member of European Parliament (MEP) Monica Macovei in light of the December Council summit.
"My position with regards to the start of Macedonia's accession talks has always been clear. Macedonia has demonstrated and is still demonstrating it deserves to be in the EU", Macovei told MIA's correspondent in Brussels.
Pertaining to the possibility of new obstacles by certain EU member-sates and another delay in the accession talks, the former justice minister who was responsible for the reforms that brought Romania in to the EU, stresses that the Council must follow the EC recommendation and agree with the Macedonian authorities over the start of the negotiations.
"It is unacceptable to put a veto on the start of accession negotiations while the Commission has given the green light for several years. Macedonia is prepared and EU member-states, such as Bulgaria and Greece, should stop blocking the Union and Macedonia's interests by referring to bilateral issues. These things can be solved in parallel with the accession negotiations, which was the case with other countries in the past", says MEP Macovei.
She also refers to the threats over annulment of the visa-free regime for Western Balkan countries, including Macedonia.
"I believe that the post-visa liberalization monitoring mechanism has been put in place to assess the progress of Macedonia and other Western Balkan states in the area, as well as the sustainability of reforms. I am happy that the EC has noted advancement in the field in the latest progress report on Macedonia. This is a positive sign showing again that Macedonia is prepared to launch the accession negotiations with the EU", concludes Macovei.
