Skopje, 16 September 2022 (MIA) – President Stevo Pendarovski says the screening is absolutely the most important political priority for the country over the next 14 months. “I don’t think the constitutional changes should be the Government’s political priority today or in the coming months. Nevertheless, if the Government that holds the parliamentary majority thinks otherwise, then be it. I believe we should commit to the rule of law and high-level corruption, aspects that were, in a way, put aside over the past couple of years, a time we spent on negotiating and overcoming the Bulgarian blockade,” President Pendarovski told TV24. The President says he will travel to Sofia on October 1, at the invitation of Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev, adding they spoke over the phone regarding electricity import on four occasions. The Greece-Bulgaria interconnector is set to open, in the attendance of several regional heads of state and government, as a demonstration of friends helping each other instead of seeing one another as enemies. “Only Macedonians who have a loose national self-identification are afraid of bulgarization. It is offensive for the Macedonian nation to say that a protocol, treaty, European integration mechanisms can turn us into Bulgarians. This ghost of alleged Bulgarization looming over us is invented by the opposition in order to bring fear into the Macedonian people who have deep roots and national identification. This is a blank, because there is no danger of us becoming Bulgarians through the European process,” notes Pendarovski. According to him, the referendum could have taken place if not for the foggy option proposed by VMRO-DPMNE. “I was ready to come out and vote at the referendum if the question was – are you in favor of EU accession or not,” says Pendarovski.