Germany serious about EU integration, says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Skopje Saturday and met with North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.

Schloz is currently on a tour of the region having been in Greece, Serbia and Kosovo the previous day.

His visit is also another bid to get North Macedonia and Bulgaria to solve a bilateral dispute that is blocking North Macedonia from starting membership talks with the European Union (EU).

Bulgaria refuses to approve the EU's membership negotiation framework for North Macedonia, effectively blocking the official start of accession talks with its smaller neighbour.

Scholz said that the Western Balkans is of strategic importance for Germany and that his country is "serious" in supporting European integration of the region.

"North Macedonia and Albania deserve to start the membership talks," Scholz said at a joint news conference with North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski.

Sofia insists that North Macedonia puts its Bulgarian minority in the constitution, that it formally recognises that its language has Bulgarian roots and to stamp out allegedly anti-Bulgarian rhetoric.

Skopje says its identity and language are not open to discussion and that the solution must be based on European values.

Many European leaders have been personally involved in efforts to unblock the progress of North Macedonia and Albania joining the block.

Political analysts are skeptical that Scholz's bid will produce results, as Bulgaria is facing government crises after its prime minister Kiril Petkov said he will move forward with a minority government following the withdrawal of one of the four parties from the country's centrist coalition government.

Kovachevski said that North Macedonia has fulfilled all criteria to start membership talks based on a "merit system" and again urged EU leaders to give the green light for opening accession discussions at the forthcoming EU summit planned for June 23.

"North Macedonia and Albania cannot be hostages in this process because one EU member state blocks," Kovachevski said.

Scholz is travelling to Bulgaria after his visit in Skopje.

North Macedonia applied for EU membership in 2004 and received a positive assessment from the European Commission a year later.

EU leaders agreed to formal accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia after Skopje settled a nearly three decade-long dispute with neighbouring Greece over the country's name, which saw it renamed North Macedonia.