Poland Confirms Its Support for Macedonia in the EU: One More Friend, and the Road Still Isn't Moving

Poland has once again confirmed its support for Macedonia's European path. This time the message was delivered by the deputy speaker of the Polish Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, who held meetings in Skopje at the Parliament and with Defence Minister Vlado Misajlovski.

Meeting the parliamentary friendship group with the Polish parliament, led by Daniela Nikolova, Hołownia reaffirmed the support and noted that Poland has considerable experience in overcoming complex issues. He also expressed the hope that the open issues between Macedonia and Bulgaria will be overcome in the near future. A similar message came from Tomasz Głogowski, chair of the Poland - Balkans cooperation group in the Polish parliament, who said he understands the challenges Macedonia faces on its way to the EU.

Deputy Speaker Antonio Miloshoski discussed bilateral relations and parliamentary diplomacy with the guest, and said progress towards the EU should rest on objective criteria, implemented reforms and results achieved. Misajlovski, for his part, highlighted Poland as a NATO ally and tied support for enlargement to the long-term security of the region and of Europe.

The message carries weight and shouldn't be underestimated. Poland increasingly sees enlargement to the Western Balkans as a security question too, and its Foreign Ministry, at the Berlin Process summit in Montenegro, called the region an important part of European security. Allies like that are not to be thrown away.

But on its own, this support doesn't change the accession procedure. Other candidates are getting clearer paths to the next stages, while Macedonia's process remains tied to meeting the agreed conditions. How many more friendly visits will it take for support to turn into movement, rather than one more photo from the parliament chamber?