• Monday, 01 July 2024

EU delegation not commenting leaders' meeting, says 2022 Council conclusions clear on constitutional amendments

EU delegation not commenting leaders' meeting, says 2022 Council conclusions clear on constitutional amendments

Skopje, 12 June 2023 (MIA) - The EU Delegation to North Macedonia said Monday it does not comment on internal discussions, in regard to last week's meeting between Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, while adding that the July 2022 Council conclusions are clear when it comes to the constitutional amendments.

"We do not comment on internal discussions. The July 2022 Council Conclusions are clear. In order to complete this accession negotiations opening phase, the Council also decided, as stated in the Council Conclusions from July 2022, to convene another intergovernmental conference with a view to presenting the Negotiating Framework and a state of play of the preparatory works by the Commission and stands ready to hold it without further delays nor additional political decision, as soon as North Macedonia has implemented its commitment to complete the aforementioned constitutional changes, in line with its internal procedures," EU Delegation said in a statement.

After the meeting with Kovachevski, Mickoski delivered a demand for delayed adoption of the constitutional amendments, namely after the country joined the EU.

Kovachevski said earlier today that what has been agreed and declared in public after the leaders' meeting has to be implemented, without "interpreting what someone said, because things discussed were afterward made public".

He said VMRO-DPMNE accepted the constitutional revision, noting that "denial or retraction from what was agreed and declared at the press conference after the leaders' meeting would be a big disappointment for the citizens and the international community".