The Government has not stopped working on finding a just and sustainable solution for the unblocking of the country’s accession process the past two years. We are in constant communication with member states, the European Union, the EU institutions, and we are also holding meetings with Bulgaria. There is a positive impulse for finding a solution, but there is no solution we can present to the public. It is natural to hold talks, and they will continue, but we have no intention of making concessions related to our national interest, history, and identity, Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade TimchoMucunski told a press briefing on Friday.
It’s clear that the protocols (the name of the minutes of the talks) are not part of the negotiating framework, and in the talks with all three parties (EU member states, EU institutions and Bulgaria), the Macedonian side, Mucunski noted, conveyed its positions on issues related to the risks of bilateralization.
“It’s one thing to respect the commitments undertaken, and another to use bilateral aspects to hinder based on subjective views – a country’s path to full membership. These are two different things. There are bilateral commitments that are not only of a political nature, but are also of an economic and social nature and which we have an obligation to respect according to the rules of international public law. But it is another matter when someone uses the context of bilateral agreements to unfairly block,” Mucunski stressed while being quizzed by reporters.
The FM shares the position with the President – that in the content of the negotiating framework there is neither an explicit nor implicit provision related to the moment of entry into force of the constitutional amendments.
“The provision, if read precisely, is not related to the moment of entry into force of the constitutional amendments. And here, from a nomotechnical point of view, the legal interpretation of what is written is very important. I assure you, because I have read what I am saying many times from the content of the Council conclusions, and from what is in the negotiating framework. It differs from what is written in Protocol 2, if we go into the details. There is a fundamental difference here. But we are not here to discuss such details,” Mucunski pointed out.
The Macedonian FMreiterated that the unblocking of the Macedonian process related to EU accession and the need for Macedonia to begin accession negotiations are of strategic importance for the country, the entire region, and the EU.
