The high-level panel taking place in Ohrid on the second day of the first international conference as part of the Prespa Forum Dialogue was addressed by top officials from the region, Europe and the United States.

President Stevo Pendarovski addressed the challenges facing the Western Balkan countries, especially the emigration of young people.

Without the combination of our energies, our visions and our projects we will not be able to succeed. It is good to organize this kind of conferences, it is nice to see familiar faces, I saw a few of them who were quite active in 2001. In circumstances that were difficult for Macedonia, I must say. It is time for a restart, concluded Pendarovski.

In addition to President Pendarovski, the panel was also addressed by the President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, who spoke about the position of the Western Balkans in Europe, and the importance of the region for the European Union from a geopolitical point of view.

We have to do the most important part of the job at home, we want to meet the standards and be full-fledged members of the EU. We must all together contribute to liberal democracy in the Western Balkans, Djukanovic said.

In his address, Slovenia’s President, Borut Pahor, spoke about EU enlargement and the need for the Western Balkans to be part of the European family.

Accelerated enlargement will strengthen the territorial integrity and stability of the region as a whole. Delaying the Western Balkans’ EU membership is unreasonable and not good for anyone, Pahor said.

US Acting Assistant Secretary Philip Reeker, as one of the panelists, referred to the progress made over the past 20 years since he was in Ohrid for the first time.

US President Biden’s first trip was to Europe. This confirms the cooperation we have with European countries. We must work together to face the challenges ahead of us, stressed Reeker.

The panel was also addressed by EU Budget Commissioner and former EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who spoke of commitment to democracy, the rule of law and economic development, as postulates linking the United States and the European Union.

Alain Richard, Senator from France, and Thomas Garrett, Secretary General of the Community of Democracies also addressed the panel in Ohrid.