Skopje, 24 July 2022 (MIA) — VMRO-DPMNE is holding consultations with experts and the public regarding what form its proposed referendum on the EU negotiating framework should take as well as who should submit it and if it should be about the entire negotiating framework or the part of it that refers to the bilateral agreement with Bulgaria, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski told a press conference Sunday. Speaking ahead of the annual assembly of the Democratic Forces of the Roma party, part of the opposition coalition, Mickoski denied that his party had internal problems. He said only a referendum would show if the people approved of starting EU membership negotiations in accordance with the French proposal that the government accepted. “VMRO-DPMNE is united, strong as never before. We expect a historic big victory in the elections. SDSM expects a historic record defeat,” he said, adding that a popular vote on the EU negotiating framework was “only one way to prove” that “they [the government] made a good agreement.” “That's the only way the public will know if they are right or we are,” the opposition leader stressed. For Mickoski, it is concerning that some opposition parties oppose the referendum idea. “It is a strange situation that unites those installations of the government in the opposition and the government itself,” he said. Asked if he was referring to the opposition parties of the Albanians, Mickoski said he had not yet heard their positions regarding the referendum proposal. “I have a dilemma about where they belong. Because to claim they are in opposition, they should be critical of the government," the VMRO-DPMNE head said. He also said a vast majority of citizens were in favor of a referendum. "Once again, the Macedonian public should be calm,” he added, “because VMRO-DPMNE Members of Parliament, together with several other MPs, are the guardians of the identity," Mickoski said. mr/