Skopje, 23 May 2024 (MIA) — VMRO-DPMNE is finalizing its government formation talks with the ethnic Albanian coalition Worth It and they will form the government by the end of June, VMRO-DPMNE vice president Timcho Mucunski said in a Sitel TV appearance.

While not revealing any details on their talks with the ZNAM Movement toward achieving a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Mucunski said it was likely that VMRO-DPMNE would have more than 70 lawmakers.

"It is possible the government coalition will have 80," he said. "With Worth It, perhaps also with ZNAM, there will be a two-thirds majority. Our goal is to change the Law on Organization and Operation of State Administration Bodies before the new government is formed." 

"That was one of our promises, because this is how we will modernize the government and eliminate an enormous number of unnecessary institutions that have not shown efficiency. I think we will achieve a strong consensus," Mucunski said, adding that DUI should be in the opposition.

Regarding the Prespa Agreement, he said both sides should honor their obligations, noting that Greece also had obligations.

"VMRO-DPMNE does not like the Prespa Agreement," Mucunski said. "We have said it is wrong and humiliating, and this still stands. But at the same time we cannot escape the constitutional and legal reality it has created in our country."

He also reiterated his party's positions that it would support the constitutional inclusion of the Bulgarian minority only if its practical implementation was delayed and that Bulgaria should apply the judgments of the Strasbourg Court.

"VMRO-DPMNE now has to put into practice what it has been saying so far. We are a party that has offered solutions that should make the process of EU integration predictable, but we should also have some security. Our positions remain. With the support of our strategic partners and our neighbor Bulgaria, I think our idea may be realized," Mucunski said. mr/