The leader of the Albanians in northern Macedonia reassures, that nothing bad will happen
Bulgaria’s request for Northern Macedonia to include Bulgarians in its constitution is interference in our internal affairs, Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski is adamant.
He stressed that there are also Macedonians in Bulgaria, but they are Bulgarian citizens.
“I assure you that the Macedonian state has never tried to provoke them, to tell them – come out, apply to help you. This is decided individually. If you feel Macedonian, you will say. If they don’t recognize it, you go to Strasbourg. This is the way. There is no other way, “said the Macedonian president.
“As I have no right and I should not say: you will give rights to the Macedonians in Bulgaria, so he (Petkov – b. p.)
he has no right to say yes
include or not the Bulgarians
in the constitution
This is our sovereign decision, “Pendarovski said.
The voice of the Macedonian president for the agreement with Bulgaria – which Petkov and his counterpart Dimitar Kovachevski hope to reach soon – has been heard louder since incumbent Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigned a few months ago.
Any final solution to the dispute with Bulgaria must be presented in the Macedonian parliament, debated and voted by a majority, the president warned. However, Pendarovski rejected the idea of seeking a two-thirds majority because it would be “very difficult” to achieve.
The ruling Social Democrats, led by Kovachevski and their coalition partners, led by two Albanian parties, have a majority of 64 out of 120 deputies. Vote to change the constitution
would require support from
the largest opposition
party VMRO-DPMNE,
which often opposes the idea of a possible compromise with Bulgaria.
The leader of Macedonia’s Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), Ali Ahmeti, hinted at slight concessions to Skopje on Bulgaria’s demands. DUI is Albania’s main partner in the ruling coalition.
“Nothing bad will happen if we include Bulgarians as a constitutional category,” Ahmeti said. “I spoke very openly about this with Petkov. We are fully committed to respecting and not denying anyone the right to declare without pressure how he feels, this to be reflected in the constitution, “said Ahmeti. Asked if they also talked about the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, Ahmeti said he did not seek reciprocity because “we are in a situation where we must govern carefully, because it is in our country’s strategic interest to have security and functional stability.”
Macedonian political analyst Sasho Ordanovski predicts to Deutsche Welle that a possible compromise will be reached in the coming months. according to him
international pressure on
Sofia is growing in this respect
The first international reactions after the meeting in Skopje are optimistic. Anna Luhrmann, Deputy German Foreign Minister said that “positive signals” were coming from Bulgaria. She reiterated Berlin’s position that EU membership talks with the PCM and Albania should begin as soon as possible.
Former German EU Minister Michael Roth, who is now a member of the Bundestag, also hopes for progress.
“It is very good that the new heads of government of Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia are meeting. Just as the PCM recognizes the Bulgarian minority in the country, so Bulgaria must finally implement the ECtHR’s decision to recognize the Macedonian minority. “In the EU, no country should decide on another’s language and culture,” Roth said.
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, Hristian Mickoski, has called for early parliamentary elections to be called again in northern Macedonia, local media reported. “We are ready to introduce amendments to the Electoral Code in parliament, which stipulate that there will be no technical (official) government, ie no hundred days lost to citizens, but that we will use the constitutional term of 45 to 60 days,” Mickoski said.
–
