Political dialogue in Macedonia crucial to EU bid, panel says

The EU expects Macedonia to continue constructive political dialogue on key issues, the Stabilisation and Association Council (SAC) said in a statement Tuesday (July 24th) after talks with officials in Skopje. The SAC welcomed the resumption of political dialogue and parliament’s commitment to securing political support for a pro-European agenda. It also stressed that implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement is key to Macedonia’s EU integration bid. The SAC, an EU panel that monitors the progress of Macedonia’s EU bid, praised the level of political will in Macedonia for fighting organised crime. At the same time, it called for implementation of planned judicial reforms.In other news, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic visited Skopje on Tuesday, promoting the idea of a regional alliance geared towards the EU integration process. The alliance would be similar to the Visegrad Group, composed of the current EU members Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.