2023-04-21 15:02:00
The Social Democratic Prime Minister Kovacevski sees “no further obstacles, conditions or political demands”, as he says in Vienna. SPÖ boss Rendi-Wagner also sees a “win-win-win situation”.
North Macedonia wants to be a member of the European Union by 2030. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski on Friday in Vienna. At the invitation of the Renner Institute and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the social democrat spoke at the Diplomatic Academy about his country’s path towards the EU, which picked up speed last year with the start of accession talks. And he demanded: “No further obstacles, conditions or political demands.”
Macedonia has been an official candidate for EU membership since 2005, but has had to brave strong headwinds ever since. First, the resistance of Greece had to be overcome by changing the name of the state, then reservations from France and the Netherlands, and finally a veto from Bulgaria, which sees the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia as being discriminated against. However, the latter is still pending, since parliament approved a compromise last year, but the necessary constitutional changes regarding the rights of the Bulgarian minority must be made with a two-thirds majority, which the government is currently lacking due to resistance from the right-wing conservative opposition.
“It’s time for results”
Kovacevski therefore called for further support from the European social democrats on the path to European integration. All necessary steps will be taken in the country, but support is needed in view of possible further political demands. “We will do our homework,” confirmed the prime minister. “The long road must come to an end solely on the basis of what we have achieved – no more, no less.(…) It is time for results, no more obstacles, conditions or political demands.”
This time, however, Kovacevski was again unable to specify how he intends to resolve the domestic political stalemate on the way to amending the constitution. As the day before after talks with Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), he told the opposition – which vehemently rejects the changes and calls for early elections – this time again that it was a strategic decision that had to be made outside of daily politics and “not by depends on a person, a party or a government – a process affecting society as a whole”.
SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner, foreign policy spokeswoman for her party, who took over the introduction of the North Macedonian prime minister, referred to North Macedonia’s “bumpy” path on the way to the EU due to the various vetoes and assured Kovacevski that the SPÖ would support “the fastest possible admission of accession negotiations with North Macedonia”. For Austria this is a “win-win-win” situation, one can only benefit from a prosperous, progressive and democratic south-eastern Europe.
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