Skopje, 10 September 2023 (MIA) – The communications with each MP will intensify in the coming period. We expect to have two distinct political blocs by September-October, one bloc which is in favor of EU membership as soon as possible, and the other bloc which is against EU membership and which thinks we can wait. Waiting is a strategy that will empty our country of young people and kill the hope for the EU, said Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs, Bojan Marichikj, in an interview for MRT 2.

Marichikj noted that if the country really wants to stay in the package of countries that are negotiating, so that it can have a chance to join by 2030, the constitutional amendments are the first decision that has to be made.

“We have done everything, we are doing everything and we will do everything for the constitutional amendments to be adopted by the deadline. I think that we will succeed because the other option is to get off the track of countries that are already negotiating, such as Montenegro, Albania and Serbia, and remain as part of a group of countries that are much further away from negotiations. Bosnia and Herzegovina received its candidate status last year. Kosovo is in a completely different process in terms of normalizing relations with Belgrade, they submitted their membership application last year. We’ve passed through these stages a long time ago,” said Marichikj.

The Deputy Prime Minister is optimistic that all MPs in Parliament will grasp the opportune moment for North Macedonia, because, he said, “the signals are clear that 2030 is a realistic deadline and achievable, but that doesn’t mean it is a given for everyone, it depends on how we position ourselves.”

“Our fight is to remain in a package with Albania, to move faster and reach the countries that have already been negotiating for 10 years. Our goal is to join the EU the next time the door is open. Currently, this depends only on us and on how we approach our tasks and how we complete them. There is no longer anyone that will block our progress, only we, through an internal blockade or by not accomplishing our tasks and reforms, can lead ourselves to become a part of a category of countries that have serious internal structural problems,” said Marichikj.

According to Marichikj, the constitutional amendments should not be an obstacle that blocks the country’s EU accession talks, because, he said, “they don’t change anything essential, they just add a couple of communities to the ones introduced by the Ohrid Framework Agreement in 2001,” and added that the responsibility is clearly located within the opposition and the MPs who have to vote.

“We saw that the negotiating framework is a sufficient guarantee for the protection of all our citizens and all our communities. We saw that the negotiating framework is what outlines a path to the EU, and the harder we work, the sooner we will be able to join the EU,” said Marichikj, adding that with belief and hard work, the country can become an EU member by 2030.

Photo: Secretariat for European Affairs