site.btaNorth Macedonia PM: Many MEPs Will Not Vote for Amendment Deleting "Macedonian Identity and Language"

Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski said on Tuesday that in the European Parliament "there are a large number of MEPs who are calling and saying that they will not vote for the amendment, the aim of which is to "delete the Macedonian language and Macedonian identity" in a Taliban way from the report" of the European Parliament on the country's progress towards the EU.

Тhe report, conducted by MEP Thomas Weitz, will be discussed on Tuesday in the EP and and voted on Wednesday.

Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev said earlier this month that the three largest parties in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament and Renew Europe, had agreed to remove all references to "Macedonian identity" and "Macedonian language" from the document. The proposed change to the report continues to be a hot topic in North Macedonia.

After visiting the village of Bashino Selo in Veles, Mickoski told journalists that he did not expect the shadow rapporteurs to support this amendment either.

"I regret that in the 21st century in Europe there are such MPs in the EP, which should be a cradle of democracy, where human rights will be respected, where respect for the identity of a small people will not be a stumbling block, but here, there are such people. The important thing is that that adventure in 2022, inspired primarily by [former Minister of Foreign Affairs] Bujar Osmani and supported by political ignoramuses such as [former Prime Minister of the country Dimitar] Kovachevski and (former Minister for European Affairs Bojan) Maricic, reached its culmination and citizens can see what it is all about," said Mickoski. He once again recalled that until now, EP reports have never included formulations related to the identity and language of the people of North Macedonia.