Belgrade, 28 August 2023 (MIA) - There are no guarantees that this will be the last amendment to the Constitution, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski told Belgrade-based newspaper “Politika” in an interview, accusing the Macedonian diplomacy of failing to ensure better positions and guarantees that there will be no new obstacles on the country’s Euro-integration path.

“What are the guarantees that this amendment to the Constitution, which is being demanded from Macedonia now, will be the last one? That there won’t be another demand for a constitutional amendment tomorrow, redefining identity issues or a new minimizing and erasure of ASNOM as the foundation of Macedonian statehood. Certain signals are emerging from Bulgaria which are openly denying the Ilinden Uprising and its character and, yet again, there was no reaction about this from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Mickoski.

Asked about the messages of high EU officials, such as Josep Borrell, the Visegrád foreign ministers, the U.S. Secretary of State, and others, that the amendment to the Constitution is the only way for North Macedonia’s prosperity within the European perspective, Mickoski reiterated VMRO-DPMNE’s position.

“If constitutional amendments were a condition for the EU, then Macedonia would have been a member and a champion of the EU, because in the past thirty years we have amendment the Constitution as often as all member states together. We are making this clear to our partners from the international community. Partnership is a two-way street, based on respect. The EU’s institutional guarantees would be a small step for them, but great encouragement for us that the European path is not a moving target, but something achievable,” said Mickoski.

The VMRO-DPMNE leader reiterated the promises made by the EU ahead of the referendum on the Prespa Agreement, noting that the EU’s institutional guarantees would mean that any Macedonian Government would have a concrete target to fulfill.

Asked about Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski’s offer for VMRO-DPMNE to join the Government and the resignations of DUI’s ministers, Mickoski said “we don’t need power for the sake of power, elections will be held in Macedonia sooner or later.”

“Participating in a Government without the incriminated structures of SDS and DUI can only help in pulling the country out from the hole in which it is sinking every day. That would have only facilitated the country’s progress towards reforms, but, this, without clear positions in our foreign relations is irrelevant. You can implement glowing reforms, but you will still be blocked because of historical and retrograde narratives on the other table, where Bulgaria insists on them. Just to note, the Government did not respond to our proposals, they just attempted to abuse and twist them in a perfidious way. And now, elections are the sole remaining option,” said Mickoski.

On his position that elections should be held first, and then discussions over the amendments, which has been assessed as following partisan interests over national interests, Mickoski said “elections are the most democratic act and a way for the people to voice their opinion over the political processes in a country, and give the mandate on whether and under which conditions the Macedonian Constitution will be amended.”

“The consensus sought by the public, which referred to the exclusion of historical and identity topics from the negotiations, to some kind of reciprocity and a positive signal and institutional guarantees from the EU and Bulgaria is a solid foundation upon which the future VMRO-DPMNE Government will fight for a European future,” said Mickoski, adding that “the MPs of VMRO-DPMNE and its coalition partners have demonstrated that amendments under dictate cannot happen.”

In his interview for “Politika”, Mickoski touched upon the country’s relations with Serbia, assessing them as good, with room for economic improvement.

“If you allow me to be an ‘economic nationalist’, the new, future VMRO-DPMNE Government in Macedonia will successfully compete with Serbia in the future, and why not also win when it comes to attracting investments and economic development,” said Mickoski.