LSDM Accuses Mickoski of Isolating the Country: He Tours Brussels While Macedonia Remains Outside the EU

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (LSDM) issued a strongly worded statement this morning, targeting Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski over his planned visit to Belgium.

According to LSDM, Mickoski is setting off on what the party describes as a “tour” of Belgium while suggesting that citizens spend their holidays at the country’s lakes and mountains. The party stresses that the reality at the borders is entirely different, with huge crowds and waits lasting for hours. “Macedonia is isolated, and this is happening because Mickoski wants it that way,” the statement said. LSDM added that the prime minister is not seeking EU membership because, in the EU, the prosecution operates independently, dissidents are not threatened, and criminals such as Llatasi and Gruevski cannot be set free, while illegally acquired properties such as the White Palace cannot be returned.

The opposition also alleges that officials from the ruling party and their family members have already obtained Bulgarian citizenship and European Union travel documents. “The entire OBRM-PDUKM has obtained Bulgarian citizenship and European passports for themselves and their relatives. They do not wait in line at the border but pass through a special EU checkpoint,” LSDM stated.

The statement also says that government officials own companies in Bulgaria and that Mickoski, because of knee pain caused by bowing during the election campaign, travels on a state aircraft. According to LSDM, he does not feel Macedonia’s difficult position as an appendage in the Balkans and Europe at all. While the public is told about lakes and mountains, the country’s leaders choose luxury destinations. Belgium, one of the most expensive countries in the EU, poses no financial problem for Mickoski and his supporters, who can even afford expenses of 65,000 euros for a single hour. “And you, the people, look at your empty refrigerator and wipe the floor with a rag,” LSDM concluded.