The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristiyan Mitskoski, confirmed that the largest Macedonian opposition party will not vote on the prepared changes in the country’s constitution, which will include the Bulgarian ethnicity in the basic law.
This is the main Bulgarian requirement for Skopje to start real negotiations for EU membership, but without the support of VMRO-DPMNE, the necessary two-thirds majority in the parliament cannot be secured.
“I will tell them that I, Hristiyan Mitskoski, will go to the leadership meeting and on behalf of the vast majority of the people who are looking for protection and expect to stand on their own feet, I will say that there will be no constitutional changes and acceptance of a Bulgarian diktat “, Mickoski said.
A leadership meeting is expected on Wednesday. The changes have already been drafted and are yet to be adopted by the government. They will then be sent to Parliament. The expectations of the authorities are that they can be accepted by November.
The changes are in the Preamble, adding the words: Bulgarian ethnic group, Croatian ethnic group, Montenegrin ethnic group, Slovenian ethnic group, Jewish ethnic group, Egyptian ethnic group, after the Bosnian ethnic group.
“I will not allow the will of the people to be trampled and the national interests to be trampled upon. Macedonia is not for sale,” Mickoski said.
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, for his part, commented that the options are clear – on the one hand, integration into the EU, and on the other – isolation.
VMRO-DPMNE has developed a powerful anti-Bulgarian campaign in recent months, and relations between the two countries have soured, although last year Sofia agreed to conditionally open Skopje’s door to the EU.
There was a lot of tension around the closure of the Bulgarian cultural clubs in the country and the beating of Hristiyan Pendikov.
Now, the portfolio goes to the new Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel, who until recently was a European Commissioner.
The integration of the Western Balkans is a top priority for the EU, but the process may be delayed due to Skopje’s refusal to fulfill the Bulgarian demands, which are included in the negotiation framework of North Macedonia.
