EUHR Solana welcomes the entering into force of the SAA between the EU and the Macedonia

Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), made the following comments today on the occasion of the entering into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

"I welcome the entering into force today of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This agreement, the first of its kind to complete the ratification procedures by all national parliaments, puts the bilateral relationship on a new and closer basis. The distance between Brussels and Skopje is reduced.

For the government in Skopje, the entering into force of the SAA should, together with the recent application for EU membership, serve as an encouragement for thorough implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and determined effort to tackle other key reform challenges outlined in the European Commission's annual report. For political leaders in the region, it is a positive example as well as a demonstration that courageous and responsible policies bear fruit."

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