The European Parliament’s draft report on the Republic of North Macedonia’s progress toward EU membership was adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) with 40 votes in favour, 19 against and 10 abstentions, according to a report by BTA.

However, the committee did not allow the European People’s Party (EPP) group to submit an oral amendment to add the qualifier “modern” before “Macedonian language and identity”. The EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe and the Greens have announced that they will submit the same amendment in writing ahead of the plenary session vote expected in Strasbourg in July.

David McAllister, Chair of AFET, noted that the EP failed to adopt a report on North Macedonia two years ago and expressed hope that the document would be approved this time. He added that the Foreign Affairs Committee had already postponed the vote once earlier this month.