LDP chairwoman and MP Monika Zajkova said in Sofia that the desire to see Macedonia become part of the European Union must be accompanied by concrete support and joint action. She spoke shortly before her address, following a statement by MEP Andrej Kovaçev that Bulgaria views Macedonia with affection and sincerely wants it to become an EU member.
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According to Zajkova, after more than two decades of promises about Europe, the Western Balkan countries no longer need general statements about their European perspective. They expect concrete decisions through which the fulfilment of reforms and obligations will lead to measurable progress.
She recalled that, in Thessaloniki in 2003, the Western Balkans were given a clear European perspective. “The child who was born then is 23 years old today,” Zajkova said, adding that an entire generation has grown up with the message that Europe represents its future. For this reason, she stressed that the debate should focus on the actions that can be taken today, rather than on what Europe might do one day in the future.
Zajkova stressed that the citizens of Macedonia are seeking a process in which every obligation fulfilled is followed by a step forward. She said that citizens are not tired of reforms themselves, but of reforms that produce no results. If they are asked to make difficult decisions, introduce changes and accept compromises, then they must be shown that meeting the conditions brings visible progress. Otherwise, she said, trust is undermined.
The MP said the region must move away from the political logic of blocking one another and focus on ways in which the success of one country can strengthen its neighbours and Europe as a whole.
“We must ask how we can help each other become stronger,” she said, citing the relationship between Bulgaria and Macedonia as an example. Zajkova stressed that a prosperous, democratic and European Macedonia is in Bulgaria’s interest, while a successful and developed Bulgaria is in the interest of Macedonia, the Balkans and Europe.
She described the continued perception that one country’s progress represents a loss for its neighbours as a major strategic mistake. According to Zajkova, differences over the past may exist and emotions may be present, but they should not prevent the construction of a better common future.
During her address, Zajkova presented three measures that would make European integration more tangible even before formal membership. She proposed the urgent and structured inclusion of MPs from candidate countries, without voting rights and on a transitional basis, in the relevant committees of the European Parliament; stronger parliamentary oversight of the fulfilment of obligations during gradual integration; and the implementation of the principle of automatism, whereby meeting clearly defined criteria in advance would be followed by equally clearly defined benefits.
“When the criteria are clear and fulfilled, there must be a result,” Zajkova said. She added that it is not reasonable for a political debate to begin again five years after a reform has been completed today, in order to decide whether the promised benefit should be granted. According to her, Europe must restore the direct link between merit and progress.
In her capacity as chairwoman of the Liberal Movement of Southeast Europe, Zajkova said regional cooperation had demonstrated that a neighbour’s success should not be viewed as a threat, but as an opportunity.
She mentioned her colleagues Ilhan, Vlad, Dan Barna and others from the region, saying that she views their success not as competition, but as partnership. Zajkova stressed that the Balkans would change if this became a common political reflex: energy would no longer be spent on obstructing one another, but on moving forward together.
