Macedonia aims for early accession talks

Macedonia hopes to begin EU accession talks early next year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska.

"Our biggest expectation is for the Slovenian presidency in 2008," Konevska-Trajkovska said, adding that she was hoping Macedonia would get a date to begin negotiations before the end of the year.

Konevska-Trajkovska said Macedonia hoped to be ready to implement fully all EU laws by the end of the decade.

"2010 is the year when we expect to be fully harmonised with the legislation of the European Union," she said.

Macedonia has already set up 35 working groups to examine the ‘negotiating chapters’ in accession talks.

EU diplomats say that talks could begin in 2008, but are warning that there is still a long way to go before Macedonia can become an EU member state.

"It is very good to hear that so much attention is being paid to pushing legislation," said Jan Truszczynski, deputy director-general of the Commission’s enlargement directorate.

But Truszczynski added that the Commission had seen "a certain slowdown" in reforms in 2006. Konevska-Trajkovska admitted that tensions between political parties had delayed reforms.

In an attempt to calm some of the political rivalries, a member of the opposition will be appointed as head of the national council that supervises the talks with the EU, she said.

Macedonia hopes to begin EU accession talks early next year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska.