(ANSA) - SKOPJE, APR 6 - According to North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, bilateral disputes should not be an obstacle to achieving collective goals. Speaking Saturday at the annual meeting of the Standing Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, held for the first time in North Macedonia, Mickoski made tacit reference to the disputes Skopje has had first with Greece and then with Bulgaria. In the first, which ended a few years ago, Athens for nearly 30 years blocked Skopje's path to Euro-Atlantic integration by demanding a name change of the former Yugoslav country, and claiming the term 'Macedonia' as exclusive to the northern Hellenic province. After the agreement with Greece, North Macedonia could join NATO in 2020. But it is now Bulgaria that is blocking Skopje's path to EU integration because of an identity, historical and linguistic disagreement. Sofia is demanding amendments to the Macedonian constitution to formalize the inclusion in it of the Bulgarian minority present in North Macedonia. A request that does not sit well with the current nationalist government in Skopje. The country has already made many concessions on its difficult path, although it has not always gotten what it expected, Mickoski said. "I think we should consider introducing mechanisms that will not allow bilateral disputes to hinder the achievement of the collective and common goal," the Macedonian PM said. Mickoski, and Defense Minister Vlado Misajlovski, who was also present at the meeting, thanked NATO allied countries for the medical assistance provided after last month's tragic fire at the Kocani nightclub, welcoming dozens of injured people to their hospitals. (ANSA).