Skopje, 29 March 2023 (MIA) – The only way to reach the necessary two-thirds majority in Parliament for the constitutional amendments is to hold talks with the people from the opposition, said President Stevo Pendarovski at a joint press conference with the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Wednesday.

 “I would not like to see any other approach to reaching that two-thirds majority and if we have an honest intention to come to an understanding then I assure you that all arguments are on the side of those, including me, who believe that the contents of the constitutional amendment, the adding of the Bulgarians within our Constitution is a benign change and does not threaten Macedonian sovereignty, independence nor the European path in any way,” said Pendarovski in answer to a journalist’s question.

Asked what will happen if the majority isn’t reached, President Pendarovski said that it is clear what will happen, since the European negotiating framework states that if the country does not adopt the constitutional amendments by the end of November this year, it will be blocked once again on the path to the EU, this time as a result of its own decision.

The working group that is supposed to draft the constitutional amendments, he said, should technically and formally be initiated and established by the Ministry of Justice, and it will also include a representative from his Office, which he will recommend. He said he expects this to happen during this week or the next.

 “If the opposition decides not to participate in either the working group which will be created by the Ministry of Justice or the Committee on Constitutional Issues in Parliament, it is clear that even if I propose to organize a discussion, they will refuse to participate yet again. I think they are wrong. I call on them to share their arguments. And I think that the debate should be broadcast live for the Macedonian public, so that it can see the arguments of both sides, and see that these are things we have already implemented 22 years ago. The country will surely not fall apart if you add three or four more ethnicities to the Constitution,” said Pendarovski.

According to the President, those who think that the European negotiating framework, which was adopted last year in Parliament, is not good enough and claim they would’ve negotiated a better one, he said, don’t know how the mechanisms within the EU work.

 “If someone can negotiate a better framework, then I will be the first one to congratulate them. However, they should not be trying to do this today, tomorrow, next year, because there will be no other opportunities to renegotiate an issue which has already been agreed with 27 EU member states,” said Pendarovski.

Pendarovski indicated that the negotiating framework which contains the obligation to add the Bulgarians within the Constitution, took a few months to negotiate. France was only a mediator during those six months, however, all EU member states, including Bulgaria, accepted that framework, said the President.

Asked on whether new demands are possible on the country’s EU path, Pendarovski said that this is a logical question, but he hopes that such things won’t happen, because the credibility of the EU, as an organization which for years and decades has been considered as a champion in the promotion of human rights and democracy, has drastically fallen.

 “Because of its credibility in the region and beyond, the EU itself should not allow any member state to cause issues with someone’s accession over questions that are not related to the real criteria, values and principles because of which it has been created and because of which it has survived for so many decades as an organization. So to block a country because of identity and historical issues, is not permitted and should not be permitted in modern Europe,” said Pendarovski. ad/nn/