site.btaRed Lines Resolution Brings French Proposal to Fore in North Macedonia’s Election Campaign

A resolution on “red lines” for North Macedonia’s EU integration, tabled by opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) Chair Venko Filipce, introduced the so-called French proposal into the country’s local election campaign.

VMRO-DPMNE MP Antonio Miloshoski held a press conference on Wednesday. The event was covered on the VMRO-DPMNE website. Miloshoski accused Filipce of shifting his political stance in line with the interests of his financial and political mentor, Zoran Zaev. He noted that while Filipce had previously presented the French proposal as a major diplomatic success for North Macedonia in 2024, Filipce was now putting forward “red lines” and a resolution to shield himself from the consequences of this diplomatic achievement.

Miloshoski said, “Venko Filipce does not know how to build a motorway or a clinical centre, but together with his guru Zoran Zaev, he is quite capable of putting his signature on any future document which would further subordinate the Republic of North Macedonia, just as former foreign minister Bujar Osmani did by accepting the French proposal and its annexes in favour of neighbouring Sofia.” He added that such changing positions by Filipce were not aimed at the Macedonian public but at Bulgaria, suggesting Filipce hoped for support from either Bulgaria or some international actor to help him gain power or at least retain his leadership of SDSM, since he lacked support from citizens and party members.

Filipce responded in comments published on the SDSM website, “I regret that VMRO-DPMNE is again trying to evade state responsibility. It is time, at least on these matters, for us to stand united and show maturity to both citizens and Europe. Our proposal is clear. The draft resolution we are submitting incorporates all previous documents and resolutions, including the French proposal. In this resolution, we clearly set out how identity-determining factors are protected, and we reaffirm this now. We clearly state what our red lines are.”

The draft resolution proposed by SDSM also drew comment from North Macedonia President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova. Speaking to TV Sitel, Siljanovska-Davkova said she was not in favour of new “red lines” but rather an agreement among the country’s political parties.

“There are no more red lines; those lines have already been crossed or erased. This is not a new proposal – there have been several declarations before it, one of which was prepared with help from the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. I expected and hoped the party leaders would sit together, bury their differences, and go to Brussels as one, showing that we have changed the constitution many times with no result, and that this is not the solution. Constitutions can be changed, but our neighbours’ policies towards us remain the same. We should follow the example of Bulgarian or Greek politicians: not change our constitution further, but sit down and develop a negotiation platform. Let’s not talk to anyone outside until we have agreed among ourselves on what is possible and what is not. Things seemed to be going well, but then I saw the SDSM leader visiting Brussels, saying he was ready to sacrifice his mandate just to make a step forward in EU integration. If you only take one step, changing the constitution, but then face more obstacles, you have achieved nothing, just changed the constitution. That is not a red line. I am not for lines; I am for an agreement here at home,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in June that the “French proposal” presented in 2022 sought to unlock Skopje’s EU path by addressing disputes with Sofia over language, history and minority rights, while requiring respect for the 2017 Friendship Treaty and broader measures against hate speech and discrimination. He argued it made EU entry contingent on the completion of the joint historical and education commission’s work, calling it the only case in modern Europe where membership depends on a body that interprets history. “Even if we had been part of the negotiating team that agreed this deal, we would not have accepted it,” Mickoski said.

Responding to a question from SDSM leader Venko Filipce, Mickoski said he opposed any qualifier such as “contemporary” in EU texts on identity and language, linking the issue to pressure to include Bulgarians in the constitution and to reciprocity on minority rights, including ECHR rulings and the registration of OMO Ilinden PIRIN. “We will do everything we can to start negotiations, but we will not do so as "modern" citizens of North Macedonia,” Mickoski said.