Skopje, 4 January 2023 (MIA) – We shouldn’t waste any time in the process to amend the constitution, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani urged on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press briefing, he said he’s concerned that the negotiations with the EU could be suspended if the country didn’t change the Constitution by November. “We will lose the momentum, which is one of the worst things that could happen on the European path and I’m afraid we might see some kind of ‘Montenegrin scenario’, after which it will be very hard to get back on track,” Osmani stated.

He revealed that so far some informal consultations have taken place in Parliament. “I believe that this year we should start with an official set of consultations and public debates, in which the politicians, non-governmental organizations, experts, journalists will be involved to discuss the pros and cons,” said the Minister.

Osmani called for making a distinction between the essence of the problem – are the constitutional changes problematic and the partisan interest surrounding the constitutional changes.

Thus far, he added, no distinction can be made as to where the state interest starts and where the partisan interest ends, this confuses people, because they don’t know whether a politician has formed their opinion because they want early elections and to come to power or because they consider the constitutional changes to be risky.