Struga, 15 June 2023 (MIA) - Preparatory activities for the start of the Roadmap have been ongoing for more than a month, and a working group has been formed within the Government, Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj told a press conference at the Prespa Forum Dialogue in Struga on Thursday. 

He noted that the working group should make the first draft, after which communication with experts in respective fields follows and changes according to indications by the civil sector.

"We would like to have an initial version by the end of July, which we could share with the European Commission. In the meantime, we expect to receive a report on the first cluster. The dynamics of its publication and delivery is not up to us, but the European Commission. According to information we have, the European Commission is in a phase of internal consultations, regarding our and Albania's report on the fundamental rights cluster," said Marichikj.

The Deputy PM noted that the EC report on the screening in the first cluster is expected, as well as the first draft of the three roadmaps for the rule of law, public administration and reforms in public administration, and for the functioning of democratic institutions.

"We cannot fully complete the roadmaps without seeing the report. Practically, the report should give a direction for finishing the roadmaps. To make sense, the roadmaps should respond to the notes in the screening report," Marichikj said. 

Asked about the Action Plan for minority rights, Marichikj said the Ministry of Interior and the Secretariat for European Affairs have started working on it.

"The negotiating framework and the bilateral protocol with Bulgaria are our starting point or benchmark, but we will not just stop at that. I think the Action Plan should go beyond the framework and cover all measures until our EU membership, which refer to all types of minorities in the country, not only ethnic or linguistic minorities," said Marichikj. 

In response to a reporter's question on how long until a start of the procedure for constitutional amendments in the Parliament, because "the initial dialogue with VMRO-DPMNE is stalled", Marichikj said there are deadlines for the constitutional amendments, but the leaders' meeting between Kovachevski and Mickoski has reopened the question of when is the best time for the next step. He called on the opposition to form its own working group at a high political level, as SDSM did, in order to start talks "within the framework and conditions in which they would feel comfortable, regardless of whether it will be public or they will work more quietly." According to Marichikj, it is important to sit down for talks. 

Photo: MIA