Skopje, 25 December 2024 (MIA) - In her annual address to Parliament on Wednesday, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova noted that the only possible solution for the Bulgarian veto would be that of constitutional amendments with a suspensive effect, which, she said, would also be a win-win solution for Bulgaria because it would achieve its request, but later, and in the meantime, it would also help the country in its European integration.

“We have proposed a solution even for an irrational request. By creatively interpreting the negotiating framework, i.e. the Conclusions, we believe that the only possible solution would be that of constitutional amendments with a suspensive effect established in the Constitutional Law on the Implementation of Amendments, which we have already applied several times. In this case, vacatio legis would be binding, i.e. the amendment would enter into force after the completion of our negotiations and the ratification of the Treaty on our EU Membership. This would be a win-win solution for Bulgaria because it would achieve its request, but later, and in the meantime, it would help us in European integration, in the spirit of the Preamble to the Treaty on Good Neighborliness and Friendship, aware that the sooner our negotiations are completed, the sooner it will reach its goal. For us, a win would be the opportunity to deal with European reforms, instead of Balkan obstacles, and we would rush to complete the negotiations. For both countries, a win-win would be the strengthened friendship and proven good neighborliness,” Siljanovska Davkova stressed.

The President stressed that the EU’s attitude towards the country directly depends on the country’s attitude towards the Copenhagen criteria, reforms, Europeanization.

“Economic, judicial, political, legal and other changes in the direction of harmonization with EU standards strengthen our credibility and push us closer to the EU. It is important to accelerate European integration, but it is high time to act utilitarian, measuring the gains and losses, anticipating the consequences of repeating mistakes with the phenomenon: now, again this.... over and over again...,” Siljanovska Davkova said.

She stressed that the country must point out the “unsustainability of paradoxes, contrary even to common sense and logic”.

“If 16 times in 16 reports the European Parliament and the European Commission said ‘yes’ to us, and the European Council said ‘no’, the problem is not our incompetence, but the EU’s democratic deficit. If in 15 reports no problem with a minority was noted, and suddenly, in the sixteenth, the problem with the Bulgarian minority appeared, the problem is challenging. If there are 14 judgments against Bulgaria in the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and the EU has acceded to the European Convention on Human Rights and recognized its jurisdiction. How can an EU member state, which has signed and ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minority Rights, be tolerated for refusing to implement the judgments of the Court in which it has a judge? After all, the basic question is not whether a minority, or community, is mentioned in the Preamble, but whether the normative text guarantees its minority rights. How can the EU allow its member state to not have a single word in its Constitution guaranteeing minority rights, even though they are guaranteed in Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty along with human rights, and it asks us to change the constitution, even though our constitution, in Article 48 and Amendment VIII, guarantees broad protection of the rights of all communities, including Bulgarians, regardless of whether they are mentioned in the Preamble or not,” the President said.

Siljanovska Davkova noted that the EU must respect the fundamental values and principles of the candidate members.

“If the EU aims to be a philosophy, i.e. a community, and not a mere sum of parts (bureaucratic machinery), it must respect the fundamental values and principles not only when it comes to its members, but also the candidates. The Preamble to the Lisbon Treaty indeed states that solidarity will be deepened and the history, culture and traditions of peoples will be respected (paragraph 6). This is the essence of the motto ‘unity in diversity’. Why are we asked to search for similarities, revising our history? I point out to the Greek interlocutors, with my best intentions, that the Hellenic Republic has a legal and moral obligation when it insists on pacta sunt servanda, to refer Bulgaria and the European Council to Article 7 paragraph (3) which establishes the meaning of the word “Macedonia” as the “second party”, the nameless one, us, as: a territory and a people with its own history, culture and language. So, the previous ones have been put ad acta, i.e. resolved. What are we talking about with Bulgaria? About history, culture and language. So, what happened to pacta sunt servanda,” she stressed. 

In her address, the President pointed to article Article 4, paragraph (2) of the Lisbon Treaty, which she said promotes equality of the member states and their national identities.

“On what basis do European officials ask us to change the Constitution in order to start negotiations? Article 8 of the Lisbon Treaty, which refers to concluding agreements with neighbors on a reciprocal basis, is also relevant to our situation. Let me remind you: the importance of the fundamental values and principles for the EU is so great that Article 7 provides for a procedure for suspending the decision-making rights of a state that violates them. Why the EU member states fail to point out this possibility to Bulgaria in defense of the constitutional document on which it is based,” the President said.

President Siljanovska Davkova said she, both as a professor and president, finds offence in the question of whether the country will change its Constitution.

“You know my answer: the question is outside the EU constitutional norms, and I cannot and must not guarantee constitutional changes, because I am not an absolute monarch who does not respect the separation of powers and parliamentary democracy. The Constitution is carried out and changed only by you, who represent the citizens and vote according to your own, not my, conviction,” she said. 

The President assessed the bilateralization of the EU integration process as dangerous.

“The bilateralization of the European integration is not only dangerous for the Macedonian case, but for the overall enlargement process. The Balkans are the birthplace of precedents. And every harmful precedent becomes the rule. Bilateralization will not end with the Macedonian case; on the contrary, I am sure and fear that it will inspire new cases. Even then, it will become the greatest danger to enlargement as the most important geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity. The Balkan Pandora’s Box will become European Pandora’s Box. The European Union has/had the opportunity precisely with the Macedonian case to prevent this harmful precedent from becoming a rule. I welcome the German-Slovenian initiative to avoid vetoes on bilateral issues, but also the criticism of all the others,” Siljanovska Davkova stressed.

However, the President reiterated that EU membership was and remains a top state interest and priority.

“Brussels is Macedonia’s strategic destination. Our foreign policy is fully aligned with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. I believe that the European integration is a learning process not only for candidates, like us, but also for the EU, i.e. its members. I hope that, after 20 years, we have also learned the lesson that state interests are built and defended consensually, as I already pointed out at the beginning, but also that the EU has realized that it must not repeat the mistake of the breakup of Yugoslavia, when it did not have a clear strategy for the region, appeared late, and did not firmly insist on a peaceful dissolution,” she said. 

Siljanovska Davkova expressed belief that the path to EU membership can be made easier if the country’s leadership, judiciary, opposition, NGOs and media “function as a well-synchronized, practiced and experienced orchestra, whose repertoire regularly includes the symphony ‘Rule of Law’”.

“However, the members of the orchestra, as well as the audience, need a deserved, standard valorization of what has been done by the European evaluators, through the prism of the most important constitutive documents of the EU: the Lisbon Treaty and the Convention on Fundamental Rights, but also the most important international documents to which the EU has acceded, such as the UN Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights. Or, to put it another way: have we harmonized our legislation with the European acquis and do we function on the basis of European standards, i.e. the Copenhagen Criteria? The coordinated performance of the Macedonian authorities in international relations is proof of a serious state and a statesmanlike political approach, while the opposite is proof of a weak state. The same applies to the consistency of positions. They are coordinated at home, and are defended by everyone abroad,” the President said.

She said the same apples to the positions of the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President.

“We, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, build and coordinate positions at home, abroad we act as a harmonious trio. We have a position, we present it and defend it with arguments. Our positions, on the one hand, correspond to that of the majority of citizens, because we received the mandate from them, and on the other, they are based on the European and international law, refer to comparative and previous experiences and insist on a non-selective approach. It is good to be coordinated with the opposition, because this will strengthen the negotiating and state position, but for that you need a statesmanlike profile and sacrifice,” she stressed.

The temporary obstacle in the European integration must not become an excuse for passivity, underscored the President.

“The goal of the European reforms is not to have only a change in laws, but a change in reality, a change in the everyday life of the Macedonian citizens. We are not making reforms for Brussels bureaucrats, but for the Macedonian citizens. Our goal is to build a just and progressive Macedonian society,” President Siljanovska Davkova said in her annual address to Parliament.

Photo: MIA