Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and the minister. I also welcome him and his colleagues to our committee and to our country.

I compliment North Macedonia for its forbearance and patience because the route has been an extraordinarily long one. I detect from Dr. Osmani's presentation more than a little frustration with that and that is absolutely understandable. It takes a while for countries to comply with the Copenhagen requirements and with the acquis communautairebut there seem to be specific obstacles being put in the way of North Macedonia. From this committee's perspective, and I think I can speak on behalf of all political parties and groupings, Ireland is very supportive of the quickest possible accession of North Macedonia to the European Union. That is our national perspective and it would be useful to hear from Dr. Osmani how we can be of assistance in that.

My particular questions are as follows. Some of the obstacles were understandable such as the issues with Greece in terms of the name. I cannot recall any other member state of the European Union being asked to change their country's official name to be considered for membership. That was an extraordinary, positive thing and underscores the enthusiasm of North Macedonians who agreed with that in a referendum in order to be fully part of the European family and integrated into the European community. The Bulgarian issue is a little more opaque to me. I would be interested in hearing Dr. Osmani's perspective on this. If the Bulgarian issue has been largely resolved, are other issues still to be resolved? If that particular obstacle is overcome, what other impediments can he see to North Macedonia fully meeting the criteria and being welcomed into full membership of the European Union, as he says, hopefully in the immediate future?