2024-09-20 17:55:17
The Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristiyan Mitskoski, defined as a “good April Fool’s joke” the intention, expressed on BNT by Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev, to request that VMRO-DPMNE be excluded from the European People’s Party (EPP).
Asked for a comment on the words of GERB chairman Boyko Borisov, that words like those of the Deputy Prime Minister in Mitskoski’s government, Alexander Nikoloski, should be followed by resignation, Mitskoski pointed out that Nikoloski has already answered and that North Macedonia “should not fall into the trap of the election campaign and the rhetoric that is part of the election campaign in Bulgaria”.
“I regret that due to the lack of a serious vision, strategy and projects, the main topic in Bulgaria wants to be (Northern) Macedonia and the Macedonian issue. I wish them a successful campaign and after the seventh time they finally elect a stable and political government with which we, as Macedonians, can build good neighborly and genuine relations. This is expected from good neighbors and that is why the Good Neighbor Agreement exists,” said Mickoski, who attended the start of street repair works in Stip.
In an interview on BNT, which the media in North Macedonia quoted, the Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev says that the European People’s Party is informed about the behavior of VMRO-DPMNE and that he will demand the exclusion of the party from the EPP, BTA reported.
“I think that they (VMRO-DPMNE) prove in every way that they want to be with Fidesz, the party of (Viktor) Orbán. This is their desire and they are moving away from the values of the EPP and European democracy,” Kovachev was quoted as saying in North Macedonia.
In response to a question about the results of his visit to Brussels, Mickoski reiterated his thesis that he will not allow bilateralization of the North Macedonia negotiation process.
“The French proposal is a proposal, not a treaty. The Friendship and Good Neighbor Treaty (with Bulgaria) states that our eastern neighbor will support us in the European integration process and will not stop us. The policy must be based on the principles and values of the Copenhagen criteria, not on the basis of bilateral disputes, obstructions, nationalisms and identity issues. That’s what I said in Brussels,” Mickoski said.