Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki took part Thursday in a ministerial meeting of the Visegrad Group, Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, held in Warsaw.

The Visegrad Group (V4) is comprised of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. This year’s meeting in Warsaw was held under the aegis of the Polish V4 Presidency and also hosted EU member states from Eastern Europe - Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. The focal point of the meeting was the European integration of Balkan countries, in light of the recently published 2012-2013 EU Enlargement Strategy of the European Commission and its progress reports on each country taking part in the enlargement process, Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

FM Poposki in his address said it was useful that there were successful countries in the region. "Those countries that are already in the EU, such as Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, should serve as guides to candidate countries in the process toward attaining full-fledged membership. The EU needs to be principled and strict in relation to the necessary reforms, acting in a just manner at the same time toward those adequately meeting the reforms. The European Union is founded on rules that need to be respected."

At the meeting, the V4 demonstrated continuous support for maintaining the dynamics of the EU enlargement process. Participants reaffirmed the common values of peace and stability, democracy, human rights, economic development, rule of law and regional cooperation. The V4 pledged to resume its close cooperation with the Western Balkan countries, stated the press release.

On the sidelines of the event, Mr. Poposki held separate meetings with his counterparts from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. They voiced support for Macedonia's EU integration process.

During his stay in Warsaw, the FM delivered an address at the Polish National School of Public Administration entitled "Macedonia and the EU: A Candidate Country for Seven Years and Seven More Reasons for Finally Adopting a Decision to Start EU Accession Negotiations".

Establishing a professional administration represents a challenge for every EU candidate country and a motivation to maintain and improve the administration's quality as part of the Union, Minister Poposki said amongst other things.