site.btaNorth Macedonia's EU Membership Vetoed by Its PM, Government, MEP Vigenin Says

MEP Kristian Vigenin (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats/Bulgarian Socialist Party) said Wednesday that North Macedonia's European Union membership is vetoed by its Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and his government. In an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency, Vigenin argued that Mickoski "does not sincerely want the Republic of North Macedonia to be part of the European Union".

On June 4, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs decided to postpone the vote on the report on North Macedonia’s progress toward EU membership, following a proposal by rapporteur Thomas Waitz. The committee vote is now scheduled for June 24, with a plenary vote expected in July in Strasbourg.

"Mickoski is a proud successor of the previous prime minister from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), Nikola Gruevski, who applied the same tactics - blaming someone else for the country's failures to set firmly on the path of European integration," Vigenin pointed out. He noted that such interpretations are constantly made in the Republic of North Macedonia, but Bulgaria does not veto the country. The MEP recalled that the veto was lifted in 2022 and Bulgaria gave green light for negotiations with Skopje.

"What they need to do in order to continue the process, which could happen very quickly, is the inclusion of the Bulgarians not only in the preamble but also in the other articles of the Constitution as one of the peoples in North Macedonia," the Bulgarian MEP explained.

On the occasion of Mickoski's statement that he expects Bulgarian MEPs to withdraw from EP's progress report the amendments referring to the “North Macedonia's centuries-old identity and language”, Vigenin commented that there is no such thing in the report, but this daily interference of Mickoski in the work of the EP “starts to look really ridiculous” and what North Macedonia's Prime Minister is doing is unprecedented.

"Some of the proposals we have commented with colleagues have not been made yet, but Mickoski already knows about them and expects us to withdraw them," the MEP said. "We will not withdraw them, our work on this issue continues," he stressed. According to him, “these ridiculous performances” of Mickoski are only aimed at instrumentalizing the work of the European institutions for his personal benefit in a domestic political context. This clearly not only does not help, but on the contrary - hinders the country, Vigenin argued.

According to Kristian Vigenin, because of the rapporteur and some of the shadow rapporteurs, the EP has committed itself to a matter that is not its business. It is very specific and problematic in more than one and two member states and the attempt to somehow give advances to the Republic of North Macedonia risks opening a “Pandora's box” in the EP. He believes that if the issue of identity and languages is opened in principle, there are a number of countries in the EU where it could cause internal problems. He added that one of the arguments of the Bulgarian MEPs is that the topic is subject to the bilateral treaty between the two countries. “We have a track on which we are solving it and the intervention of the EP, consciously or not, in this bilateral issue risks creating a long-term problem and worsening the overall atmosphere between the two countries,” said Vigenin.

The Bulgarian MEP said that because of the rapporteur and some of the shadow rapporteurs, the European Parliament (EP) has committed itself to an issue that is not its business. "It is very specific and problematic in more than one or two Member States and the attempt to somehow give advances to the Republic of North Macedonia risks opening a “Pandora's box” in the EP," he added. Vigenin believes that if the issue of identity and languages is opened in principle, it can cause internal problems in a number of EU countries. He added that one of the arguments of the Bulgarian MEPs is that the topic is subject to the bilateral treaty between the two countries. “We have a track on which we are solving it and the intervention of the EP, consciously or not, in this bilateral issue risks creating a long-term problem and worsening the overall atmosphere between the two countries,” said Vigenin.

He also commented on another issue - how the EP reports are prepared. In his words, the Bulgarian MEPs stand behind their letter in which they express doubts that the progress report on the Republic of North Macedonia is not prepared in full accordance with the rules for transparency and objectivity. Vigenin said that this week the EP has adopted an amendment to its own rules, according to which rapporteurs on different topics must apply in the reports not only the meetings with registered lobbyists in the EP, but also the meetings with government representatives. "This is a very direct response to our suspicions," the MEP said.

Vigenin also said that before the adoption of the report the North Macedonia Prime Minister had publicly stated that he would not change the Constitution - after such a statement the signal that the EP would give is very important, the MEP stressed. He added that besides the issue of identity and language, the Bulgarian MEPs insisted on including a text related to the verdict of Ljupcho Georgievski, former head of the now-closed Ivan Mihailov Bulgarian Cultural Club in Bitola (North Macedonia). On June 12, Georgievski received a 12-month suspended sentence with a two-year probation period from the Basic Court in Bitola. He was convicted of inciting xenophobia, racism and ethnic hatred after publishing quotes by the historical figure Ivan Mihailov on the club's Facebook page.

“I think that we cannot fail to get broad support from our colleagues that any political considerations should remain in the background when we talk about human rights”, said Vigenin.