Macedonia takes another step closer to EU

Macedonian prime minister Vlado Buckovski has got his country’s EU membership application questionnaire in. This is a tool used to assess how ready an applicant is to meet EU obligations. The Former Yugoslav Republic began work on the document last October. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in so many words said, “We’ll be in touch.”

“We know the goal, we know the direction, we are there to support you but it is too soon to speculate about the date for accession.” The question of the country’s name was raised, and Barroso agreed it is important. Greece has its own claim to the name ‘Macedonia’; Brussels said bilateral consultations needed to work this out; ‘Since new accessions to the bloc are decided by unanimity among the member states, a country that comes knocking should build good relations with all the members.’

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