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Mickoski on EU integration: As long as I lead the Government, there will be no such conceived constitutional amendments

by AI | 02.Jan 2025 | Europe in brief AI

There will be no political will as long as I lead the Government and as long as I am the president of VMRO-DPMNE, and without VMRO-DPMNE there will be no constitutional changes, everyone should be aware of that. The way they are conceived – there won’t be, and there won’t, said Mickoski.

Press conference of the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski Photo: MIA

Skopje – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski reiterated today that there will be no constitutional amendments without guarantees from Brussels, that is, as he says, a jointly drafted clear plan that there will be no further bilateralization of the accession process.

– I expect that the Macedonian file will finally receive light in Brussels, and I expect that we will sit together with the people in Brussels to discuss and make a plan and scenario on how to reach the very end, and not just for the first one or two obstacles. I want to see a plan in which we will actively participate in order to reach the very end. Of course, no one can guarantee us that we will reach a certain time period, but they can guarantee us that we no longer have a problem with bilateral issues. Because we haven’t moved an inch in these 20 years due to bilateral issues. It’s not that we are brilliant at home, but many member states have become member states without being brilliant. To be more direct, it is not always about clusters and chapters but also about political will and decision. Clearly, for the Macedonian file such political will and decision have not been present in the past 20 years. This is a two-way street, we are ready to drive our direction, but is Brussels genuinely prepared to drive their direction – not declaratively, not patting on the shoulder, not sending messages, to sit down and make a clear plan. That is what I expect from Brussels, Mickoski said in response to a journalist’s question at the joint press conference in the government media center with Minister Vesna Janevska.

In response to an additional question that Brussels insists on constitutional amendments to continue on the European path and the statement of Speaker Afrim Gashi that it requires political will from the largest ruling party, Mickoski confirmed that as long as he leads the Government and is at the head of VMRO-DPMNE, there will be no constitutional amendments without the guarantees received from the EU. 

– Yes, there will be no political will while I lead the Government and while I am the president of VMRO-DPMNE, and without VMRO-DPMNE there will be no constitutional amendments, everyone should be clear about that. As they are conceptualized – there won’t be, and there won’t be. Because I am neither an adventurer nor an exhibitionist in my life, I tread on a firm plank and if I make any decision, I want that decision to mean the end of a process, not just the beginning. When someone in Brussels is ready to talk to me about the end of the process, then I will be ready, Mickoski said, assessing Gashi’s statement as intelligent because he is aware of the reality in the country that without VMRO-DPMNE there will be no constitutional amendments. (December 31)