English
For Macedonia, membership in the European Union is not a favor, but something we have long deserved, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, while attending the Munich Security Conference.
In an interview with MRT, Mickoski said that the Macedonian Government is fighting to point out the injustices the country has gone through in the European integration process and that membership in the European Union is not a favor, but something it has long deserved. Referring to the meetings in Munich, Mickoski said that the Government, wherever it is present, “fights to tell its version of the story.”
In general, we as the Macedonian Government, wherever we go, fight for what we believe in, and that is to tell our version of the story, which in our opinion is the truth. Let’s talk about all the challenges that we, as a people, as a state, have gone through in the past decades, when it comes to the European integration process, said Mickoski.
He emphasized that “for Macedonia, membership in the European Union is not a favor, but something that it has long deserved.” “Let’s point out all of the irregularities, to point out all the injustice that has been inflicted on us, both as a people and as a state, but at the same time emphasize that the essence is not to destroy the image and credibility of the European Union itself. We have a feeling, and Macedonian citizens feel frustration and have a feeling that someone from the European Union itself, not from the outside, but from within, as if wants to destroy that image and that credibility”, said Mickoski.
According to him, the Macedonian story is sad and full of challenges, but, he says, Macedonia always wins. “Wherever we go, wherever we fight and wherever we tell the Macedonian story. It is sad, it is full of challenges, but always know that Macedonia wins. That will be the case in this case as well. No matter how long it takes, we will fight and be patient”, added the Prime Minister.
Commenting on this year’s conference, Mickoski assessed that the messages from the American side this year were softer compared to last year, but, as he said, the essence is the same. The conclusion, according to him, is that Europe and America are partners and friends, but “we must know who has what responsibilities in that partnership and friendship”.
Last year, the messages were perhaps more direct, this year they were in a more convoluted form, when we talk about the messages coming from the United States of America, but the essence is the same. The essence is the same, we must know who has what responsibility and vis-à-vis the responsibility, who controls the benefits of that responsibility, said Mickoski.
Speaking about the joint statement of Macedonia and the United States of America on trade, Mickoski clarified that it is about trade tariffs, not customs duties.
Macedonia received the same conditions, when it comes to the level of the tariff, as the European Union itself – 15 percent, and is the only country in Europe, outside the European Union, that is negotiating such an agreement with the United States on a bilateral basis, which has yet to be agreed in detail. Now only the joint statement has been agreed, which practically determined the framework within which the agreement will operate, explained Mickoski.