The refugee and migration crisis, bilateral relations and cooperation, as well as Macedonian Euro-Atlantic integration, were in the focus of today's meeting between the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov and the President of the Czech Republic, Mr. Milos Zeman, held in Prague, where later today President Ivanov will participate at the extraordinary Summit of the Vishegrad Group countries (V4).

The Macedonian President expressed his gratitude for the help that the Czech Republic has been providing in terms of human resources and equipment, for a more efficient protection and supervision of the border, a more efficient system for registration of refugees and reduction of security risks in the crisis affected areas.

Both presidents agreed that the Schengen zone has been put at risk, and that the irresponsible behavior of some member states of the Union in terms of protection of external borders and failure to observe the EU – Turkey agreement, may have enormous consequences for the entire Balkan region.

"For us, it is important to establish common criteria on how to handle this crisis and to implement what has been agreed at the European level, whereby everyone should respect their individual obligations". The European Union – President Ivanov stated, has to invest efforts in order to provide a European response to the crisis, having in mind that unilateral decisions, irresponsible behavior by member states of the Union and the failure to adopt decisions within the Union do not help and provoke consequences that we should deal with additionally.

The presidents also exchanged opinions on the possibilities for further development and scenarios for prevention against this migrant crisis and the political and security related aspect of it. Both interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to establish a more efficient border management and protection, to promote cooperation and exchange of information in order to reduce the security risks that the region will be facing.

They also exchanged views on the European and Euro-Atlantic goals of the Republic of Macedonia, whereby President Ivanov pointed to the essential importance of Macedonia's fast integration in NATO and the EU, asking for support regarding the entry of the country in the Alliance at the upcoming summit in Warsaw. In the context of European integration, President Ivanov underlined that in spite of the current challenges that Europe has been facing, the European Union must continue the process of enlargement, because integration in the security and political architecture of the EU is the most appropriate response to those challenges.

President Ivanov expressed his gratitude for the invitation to participate in the Vishegrad Group Summit, as well as his satisfaction with the excellent political relations with the Czech Republic, stating that the Republic of Macedonia will remain committed to the promotion of overall bilateral relations, with a particular accent on economic cooperation. It was agreed to continue the highest level political dialogue in the forthcoming period.