Kovachevski: Referendum question used for personal, party interests
Skopje, 6 September 2022 (MIA) – Inconsistency and looking at personal, party interests to hold office, said Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski regarding the referendum question which, he added, the opposition will probably submit to Parliament.
“First of all, we’re a country that started EU negotiations with pure Macedonian language, with protected identity, and this was done on the basis of a proposal that we got from the EU, a proposal that was passed in the Parliament where it didn’t get a single vote against. What the opposition is currently doing, it is only doing it for their own internal party needs – holding the office of their leader probably. They will probably submit the referendum question to the Parliament,” Kovachevski told reporters after the Security Council session.
At this point, Kovachevski stressed, any attempt to prevent the country’s European integration process to continue is doing harm to the citizens and to the Macedonian EU integration path.
“How soon we will move in joining the EU is only up to us now, because we have tasks and activities that we need to carry out at home. This includes the implementation of a successful screening, regarding which we already announced yesterday about the decision to establish negotiating structure. Also, today I met with the chief advisor who will be working with the team. This is the former Croatian chief EU negotiator and Permanent Representative of Croatia to the UN. And, anything done for personal, party goals, is against the country’s EU membership,” said the PM.
According to him, even in the opposition there is a European block of politicians who support the country's EU membership, and this will be confirmed when the constitutional amendments will be put for adoption in Parliament, after all the consultations and the whole procedure are completed.
“And there’s something else I’d like to add - this same opposition was against the Prespa Agreement, saying we would lose our identity. We neither lost our identity nor do they mention the Prespa Agreement anymore. This same opposition organized a referendum against the territorial division in the country and during that referendum, which was unsuccessful, they said the day they come to power they will abolish the territorial division. They were in power for eleven years and did not abolish the territorial division. This same opposition was absent from the Parliament to vote against the Treaty with Bulgaria. The leader of this opposition told the Bulgarian prime minister in Bulgarian language in front of the cameras that he supports the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria, and is now coming out with a referendum question against the Treaty with Bulgaria. This is such an inconsistency, looking at personal, party interests that neither have support among citizens nor among the opposition parties,” Kovachevski said.
