Even a stalwart supporter of the SDSM party such as former ambassador and minister Gjorgji Spasov came out in support of the proposal from Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, that the dispute with Bulgaria is resolved with a time-delayed amendment to the Constitution.

Mickoski supports this position for years, insisting that the key Bulgarian demand – that the Bulgarian community is added to the Macedonian Constitution – is implemented at the end of Macedonia’s EU accession talks, as the country is admitted to the EU. This, Mickoski believes, will prevent Bulgaria from putting new demands before Macedonia, and causing new roadblocks in the EU accession process. Mickoski recently pointed to the imposed Prespa Treaty with Greece, which also contains such clauses.

I think that Mickoski’s idea for time-delayed changes to the Constitution comes from the suggestion from former Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, that this would fulfill the Bulgarian demand. The Constitution can be amended and this will fulfill the EU framework, while a constitutional law will determine that the change goes into effect once Bulgaria signs Macedonia’s EU accession treaty, Spasov said.