Page 58 - bne Magazine August 2022

58 I Southeast Europe bne August 2022
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The vote was held amid protests and tensions in the country as Macedonian opposition parties rejected the French proposal as harmful to the country’s national interests. They argue that it satisfies only the demands of Bulgaria.
The leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, held a news conference immediately after the vote, pledging that his party would never vote for constitutional changes putting ethnic Bulgarians into the constitution.
Mickoski warned that after the end of the mandate of the MPs from the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), they will be criminally liable for betraying the country’s national interests.
North Macedonia changed its name
in 2019 under the Prespa deal to solve the name dispute with Greece which allowed the country to become a Nato member in 2020, but failed to start EU accession talks at the time due to the Bulgarian veto imposed over history and language issues.
EU officials welcome vote
EU officials hailed the vote in the parliament in Skopje. EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi tweeted:
hold the intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia.
“A crucial step for North Macedonia and for the EU. Our future is together and we welcome you with open arms,” Michel said.
“Congratulations to North Macedonia on the vote that now paves the way for opening the accession negotiations rapidly. It was a historic opportunity. And you seized it!” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet.
Von der Leyen addressed North Macedonia’s MPs on July 14 urging them to vote on the proposal and seize the opportunity after being an EU candidate country for 17 years.
She assured MPs that the proposal protects the country’s interests and addresses the concerns of all sides.
“There can be no doubt that the Macedonian language is your language. And we fully respect that. That is
why the revised proposal refers to
the Macedonian language, without qualification by the EU. The proposal also respects your national identity,” von der Leyen said during the address.
“The vote was held amid protests and tensions in the country as Macedonian opposition parties rejected the French proposal as harmful to the country’s national interests"
“I welcome the result of today’s vote after last days of deliberate discussions in parliament giving [a] clear mandate for [the] government to start [the]
1st IGC based on the French proposal. We look forward to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia.”
President of the European Council Charles Michel said in a tweet that the vote in the assembly paves the way to
However, just like the opposition within North Macedonia, some MEPs are not convinced.
“I am so ashamed about the EU's continuous betrayal of North Macedonia. The words of von der Leyen cannot be sweet enough to sugarcoat this,” German MEP from the Green party, Reinhard Butikofer, tweeted on July 15.