Skopje, 30 January 2024 (MIA) - President Stevo Pendarovski says optimism by the authorities over the constitutional amendments was unrealistic, despite the firm position by VMRO-DPMNE it would not vote for them, noting that the issue will remain on the agenda for the next government and parliament after the elections.

"I believe the optimism of some ministers was not helpful over the past year, and we should have stuck to realism more. Since the acceptance of the French proposal, there was no statement or announcement by a single opposition MP that he/she would vote in order to reach the two-thirds majority. I understand that optimism should be maintained, but this should be done if there is some real positive step forward. This was not the case, because VMRO-DPMNE held firm to its partisan discipline. It is clear that the issue will remain on the agenda for the next government and parliament after the elections. However, in a situation when we speculate that the current opposition would be in power after May 8, I don't know how they would do this, because all their statements are extremely radical - they would not vote for the proposal, they would try to renegotiate it etc. You can mislead the Macedonian citizen who has other concerns to deal with, but you cannot mislead the foreign officials, who have been clear in their statements. For one to say 'we have a plan that we will tell you about after the elections' is senseless," President Pendarovski told Sloboden Pechat.

On the possibility of the country getting a better Negotiating Framework, the President says he was realistic when saying that compromise means concessions from both sides, "with ours not at the detriment of the Macedonian national interests".

"The Negotiating Framework could have been better, for sure, if Bulgaria did not use the radical nationalistic rhetoric for a period of three years starting in 2019. Many abroad and in Bulgaria were astonished by the U-turn of the then-Borisov government. When you have people speaking the 19th-century language and ask something that is outrageous when it concerns the EU accession of any countries since 1957, it is clear that you have to do everything to reduce that dialogue to a monologue, with the help of Europe, since not many people there understand those radical nationalistic Bulgarian elements. And eventually we came to a situation when we should only include Bulgarians in the Constitution. Even this might not have happened if there had been European-minded politicians in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, some of the politicians back then spoke with the San Stefano language," explains Pendarovski.

He says the core of the Negotiating Framework was sufficiently explained to the citizens but certain people said things that do not exist in reality.

"It is my assessment that VMRO-DPMNE calculated that only an anti-Bulgarian and essentially anti-European rhetoric, but also an anti-Albanian one, would win the next elections for the party. They are not interested about the irreparable damage they made about what people really think about Europe and interethnic relations. As they see it, this will be repaired once they assume power. Nevertheless, one has to be politically responsible when in opposition as well. How will you explain this after the elections? It is difficult to bring back the clock when they are now saying that Europe does not want us or that Europe wants us only if we are Bulgarians. This is top-class political nonsense but one uttered by people from the party's leadership. It is a Sisyphus struggle to renegotiate the Negotiating Framework with 26 member-states and Bulgaria and I wish them well in doing this. However, the leading European officials are saying this is impossible," underlines Pendarovski.

Regarding the messages of U.S. Assistant Secretary James O'Brien that the coming elections represent a clear choice between people who have a path to Europe and people whose background suggests they are not interested in joining EU, the President says they reaffirm Washington's support to North Macedonia's Union accession.

"I am aware that some European friends are not happy about this, but I claim that America has been making more efforts for Macedonia to join the EU than many members of the Union in recent years. The U.S. finds it important to see Macedonia not as a 'no man's land' but part of the EU because we all know the old equation 'less Europe on the Balkans means more Russia on the Balkans'. They have a national interest for us to be integrated in the EU and they are showing it," says Pendarovski.

MIA file photo