Mickoski opposes constitutional changes in the form requested by Bulgaria

Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, declared that he will not accept the constitutional amendments as currently presented by the Bulgarian side.

In an interview for the podcast “Rishtazi” of the media outlet “Koha”, he expressed openness to dialogue. “I am ready to sit down and talk with anyone, anywhere. I cannot set a timeline for the talks. They will continue for as long as necessary until we reach a sustainable agreement that brings us closer to the final goal. In parallel, we will continue implementing the Reform Agenda, raising society and the standard of living,” Mickoski emphasized.

He underlined that this whole issue must be dealt with on principled bases, which are non-negotiable and must be applied equally to all sides. “It is not about playing with principles. I will not dwell on which Macedonian government negotiated that agreement with Brussels, or what our stance was then. The public knows well what commitments that previous administration undertook. But at the same time, a Bulgarian government also took on the obligation to respect human rights,” he added.

Mickoski described as unprincipled the situation where Skopje is required to fulfill its pledges, while the other side ignores its own obligations. “Now we are asked, being outside and you inside, to accept what has been agreed, but on the other hand to disregard what a Bulgarian government accepted regarding respect for human rights. There is a series of rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg concerning the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, which order the respect of rights, including allowing the registration of clubs and associations. These demands are not implemented, while we are forced to fulfill ours? This is bullying and has nothing to do with the Copenhagen criteria or the European Union values conceived by Schuman, De Gasperi and Adenauer,” the prime minister stated.

He described this as a pure logic of force: “We are inside, you are outside and if you want to enter, you must accept this, otherwise you cannot enter. This is politics with double standards and I am not a proponent of it. What is valid for me will be valid for you too, and vice versa. This is not a bargaining table where we pick and choose what suits us. Here we are talking about principles. The more you respect them, the more value you have as a person. If you compromise principles only for convenience, you lose your significance.”

Mickoski reiterated that his government’s goal is full membership in the European Union, not a temporary solution that would repeat past failures. “Our aim is integration into the EU, not just the opening of negotiations. When we have on the table an agreement that guarantees us membership, then we are ready for talks. We do not accept solutions of the moment, which only start the process. We deserved to begin this journey 25 years ago. I was a witness when we were told that it was enough to change the name to become a NATO member and to open negotiations, and that being the best in the group, in 4-5 years we would enter the EU. Those years ended three years ago, yet we are still at the same point we were at before the constitutional name change. Let alone that we also changed the flag, the banknotes, and amended the Constitution several times.”

In the end, he added that the rhetoric of the “open window” and repeated promises have made him more cautious. “Experience has taught us the hard way. As prime minister, I am simply trying to see things more clearly now,” Mickoski concluded.