Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani came before the Parliament Committee on European Affairs today to explain their defeat in Brussels, where they failed to secure the opening of accession talks. Dimitrov said that the implementation of the Prespa treaty will be put into question if EU accession talks don’t begin, citing article 1(10) which conditions the domestic use of the name “North Macedonia” with the opening of accession talks.
Regarding the internal documents. there is a condition tying it to the EU accession talks. The Prespa treaty can’t be implemented in full unless we are in the EU, Dimitrov said.
President Stevo Pendarovski already announced such a move, and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev hinted in the direction of article 1(10) but then quickly reversed his position and said that he will fully implement the Prespa treaty regardless of the failure to open EU accession talks. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party announced a challenge to the imposed name change and that it will overturn the treaty after Macedonia joins the EU.
VMRO-DPMNE representatives led by Antonio Milososki walked out, blaming Osmani and Dimitrov of going before a much friendlier Committee led by a DUI official, instead of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where they would’ve been subjected to a more thorough oversight. Milososki pointed to the now infamous 2018 airplane selfie of Dimitrov, Osmani, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and Deputy Prime Minister Koco Angusev, when they celebrated the opening of EU accession talks that was “guaranteed” for June 2019.
The ministers who spread this fake news need to be taken to account. They failed in their goal. Osmani and Dimitrov keep talking about the responsibility of other, foreign politicians, about Brexit and China, but they don’t talk about their own responsibility. They will give up their promises given last year, but not their offices. We will not participate in this parody. Have your Government organized party here, but come to the Foreign Affairs Committee for a serious discussion tomorrow, Milososki said.
True to form, Dimitrov blamed the previous, VMRO-DPMNE led Government, for his failure in Brussels. He insisted that the EU had a much more favorable outlook toward enlargement in the past decade, but accused Macedonia of missing out on the opportunity.
We missed the trains to the EU when they were ready, as we were building monuments at the time, Dimitrov said, laying the blame for the Greek vetoes at the feet of Macedonia. This comment prompted the opposition to walk out.
Osmani, on the other hand, blamed European politicians, chiefly French President Emmanuel Macron, for making a “historic mistake” when he blocked the opening of accession talks.
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