Prime Minister Edi Rama has called on North Macedonia to accept the French proposal for unblocking European integration. In an interview for “Canale 5” in Skopje, Rama asked North Macedonia not to allow him to stay at the door of the EU for another 17 years.

“You should accept that because there will be no other proposal. It’s the final one. It is not necessary to stay at the door of the EU for another 17 years. The door must be open and therefore all issues will be able to be discussed through the dialogue between North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Open this door, open it now,” said Rama.

According to the head of the Albanian government, now is the time to make a choice and that it will be a grave mistake not to accept the proposal, because the country will be abandoned and no one will have the will to return to it, therefore the proposal should not be rejected.

“The new proposal is final, you must understand that it is final and I strongly believe that it is the right time and it is absolutely right to accept and open this door”, said Rama.

Asked if he would have accepted the French proposal if he were in the place of the Macedonian authorities and the Macedonian people, who still remember the negative role of the Bulgarian army in World War II and all the denials of the Macedonian identity, Rama said that he was very clear against Bulgarian behavior and considered it shameful.

“But at the same time, it is a fact that Bulgaria is a member of the EU and the Union has a way of dealing with things that have turned into abducting states in the interest of one or the other state and in a sense it has been put in doubt even the spirit of expansion. But this is the reality”, said the Prime Minister.

Rama emphasized that Albania will seek decoupling from North Macedonia on its way to the EU if Skopje rejects the French proposal.

/Klara Ruci/