Zaev in Berlin today meets with Merkel

As the government service hosted, Zaev will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani and Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov.

Before today's meeting with Merkel, Prime Minister Zaev last night at a meeting with businessmen in Berlin has ordered that the annulment of the start of negotiations with the EU for the country will have negative consequences, will question the stability of the government coalition, but will also fuel ultranationalistism.

Zaev has said the government expects the opening of access negotiations with the EU in June as it is written in the EU Council conclusions from last year.

We consider that we deserve a decision based on achievement. The rejection of that decision will be considered negative and will have negative effects. Any decision except for opening negotiating chapters will affect internal political processes and question the stability of the government coalition. It will fuel the frustration of citizens, prevent the implementation of the Prespa Agreement and bring damage to the reform dynamic”, Zaev has said.

The German Parliament last week ratified the North Macedonia membership protocol in NATO, but during the debate German MPs entered the Alliance linked it to the start date for negotiations with the European Union. Even though the debate on the European Commission report should be held at the special session, however, some MPs have remarks that the debate is being postponed.

Ratification for membership rejected the populist Alternative for Germany (AFD) and Mayta inform Dojce sail. Peter Bistron from AFD congratulated the country for the closure of the Balkan Ruth for refugees in 2016, but said his party would vote against NATO membership because it has “major problems with corruption”, while the Balkans are just periphery of Europe.

Opposition German MP Jergen Tritin praised that there is a clash in the government itself around the start of negotiations.

The “Kancelarja is against, while the Foreign Affairs Ministry engages to start negotiations. The coalition cannot achieve compliance with the issue, he said. Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU and SDP Social Democrats, who belong to Foreign Affairs Minister Hajko Mass, make up the coalition government. I personally believe that only one decision is possible to start negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania for EU membership, according to the European Commission's recommendation, European Council Chairman Donald Tusk stressed at the joint press conference with President Stevo Pendarovski in Brussels.

“As the leader of the European Council, I don't want to interfere. You have done everything expected of you, but to be honest, all EU member states are not ready to make a decision to open membership negotiations in the coming days. The question is not “if”, but “when” will start. I am careful about this question because I know that sometimes reaching consensus among the 28 member states lasts longer than I would like. But there is no doubt that the country of your country and the region is in the EU”, Tusk stressed.