Jess Baily, the former United States ambassador to Skopje, says the constitutional amendments are a clear solution for the Bulgarian veto, adding it would be disappointing if another veto emerged further down the road that hinders the European Union path.

In an interview with Voice of America in Macedonian, Baily says he is an optimist that the country will join the EU but cannot say when.

“The United States would be disappointed if further actions of this nature came forward. That said, as you go through the process and opening chapters, certain countries are going to want to make sure that the criteria are fulfilled, so there will be other issues along the way. I think it’s important not to see every question as an illegitimate question among member-states, because that is part of the process. And certain ones, and particularly on the rule of law, will be a lot. The country will be closely monitored, this is clear, as will Albania and others. Nevertheless, I am an optimist. I think that people will see this happen but I cannot say when,” says Baily.

He says the Prespa Agreement, similar to the constitutional amendments now, was criticized at the beginning, but its positive outcome is no longer disputed.

Next week marks the fifth anniversary from the signing of the Prespa Agreement, resulting in the change of the country’s name, followed by the NATO accession.

“Unfortunately, you do now have this Bulgarian veto on moving the process forward. There is a clear solution put out there. Not everybody likes that solution. But I think five years in the future, after making that constitutional change, people would find that it was a positive step for the country. I get that a lot of people oppose it and I sympathize with the people’s frustration over it as well,” says Baily.

Asked if the Prespa Agreement has disappointed over the country’s European perspective, he says the primary goal of the treaty was to solve the dispute with Greece and its blockade, more specifically for NATO.

“But clearly it was designed to pave the way for the EU. I think that if the country continues on its strategic path, however hard it may be, the future is better there. I believe it is important to keep that broader vision, as you look at some short-term issues that might seem hard, but at the end of the day, as many decisions in life, once you make them you see it was not that bad after all,” notes Baily.

He says the constitutional amendments would strengthen the country’s position, and Bulgaria’s problem is that it fails to recognize the Macedonian minority despite the Strasbourg court rulings.

“They have their own system. I don’t see why would someone not recognize a group in the country. I don’t know. Every country has different ways of doing this. Macedonia is and has always been a very inclusive country in that regard, and I believe the constitutional amendments only enhance this. So, if Bulgaria decides not to do this, fine, it’s their problem,” says the former U.S. ambassador to Skopje.

According to him, if the country fails to begin the accession negotiations now, it is not clear how long the process will be delayed.

Kosovo-Serbia tensions are a cause for concern, he adds, and can lead to security problems but Macedonia’s NATO membership makes the situation not that acute as it might have been.

“In the end, five years back, Prespa looks like a good agreement to me. Macedonia is in NATO, as foreseen after resolving the issue, its relations with Greece are significantly better, including in important areas like energy, and now Macedonia is surrounded by neighbors who are its sworn allies in a security alliance. That is a very different situation than you had in 2018,” underlines Baily.