Siljanovska-Davkova in Brussels: EU must apply the same rules to all candidate countries

President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova attended the European Union Enlargement Summit organized today in Brussels by Euronews. In her address, she focused on the country’s path toward European integration and the issue of constitutional amendments.

Continuing the discussion after Croatian Prime Minister Plenković’s address, Siljanovska-Davkova stressed that North Macedonia seeks equal treatment with other candidates, with the same rules and standards for all.

She described the European Union as a community founded on values and principles, rather than merely a political and bureaucratic mechanism. The president cited provisions in the EU’s founding documents on respect for national and cultural identity, emphasizing that diversity is a fundamental value underpinning European unity.

In this context, Siljanovska-Davkova drew attention to the Badinter Commission’s 1992 opinion. That opinion found that Slovenia and Macedonia met the criteria for international recognition, particularly regarding their constitutional order and guarantees of human and minority rights.

The president asked why, more than three decades later, one country is a member of the European Union while the other is still waiting for its European prospects to materialize. In her view, this situation reflects a lack of political will on the part of certain neighboring countries.

Regarding constitutional amendments, she recalled that the Prespa Agreement in 2018 led to a change in the country’s constitutional name. Citizens, she said, were told at the time that this was the final condition standing in the way of progress toward European integration.

Siljanovska-Davkova made clear that she cannot guarantee compliance with the repeated demand for another amendment to the Constitution, which has already been amended 36 times, most often under external pressure. She explained that the decision rests with Parliament, while her legitimacy as president comes from the citizens.