Mickoski: Citizens are disappointed, we have made numerous concessions for EU membership

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski was yesterday one of the speakers at the prestigious Concordia Summit in New York, an event held at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly.

During the panel, which he joined alongside Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister Maka Botchorishvili, he spoke about the difficulties accompanying the path to European integration. Mickoski accused several EU member states of using this process to interfere with Macedonian identity, while emphasizing that positive signals are also coming from Brussels.

According to him, Macedonia began its journey toward the European Union nearly two and a half decades ago, but for artificial reasons it has still not become part of the union. He said he hoped that one day the country would reach this historic moment, but in the meantime, citizens’ dissatisfaction remains high.

Mickoski stressed that many concessions had been made over the years, including changing the flag, repeatedly amending the Constitution and changing the constitutional name. According to him, all of this creates the feeling of a never-ending story. Nevertheless, he said the country continues to believe in European values and will try to find a solution to the current blockade, stressing that waiting alone is not enough and that action is also needed.

As for the negotiations with the EU, the prime minister said they should serve to transform institutions, not to change identity.

“We are building and moving forward. For my generation, negotiations with the EU have been a way to reform institutions, not to interfere with identity. Unfortunately, some member states are trying to resolve bilateral issues in a way aimed at changing our identity, rather than reforming institutions,” Mickoski said.

He described the situation as a form of pressure, in which the country is told that it must choose between being inside or outside and that, if it wants to be part of the EU, it must accept the demands being made of it. Nevertheless, Mickoski said this remains the country’s only alternative and that Macedonia is ready to move forward to emerge from this situation. /Telegrafi/