In an interview with the Serbian “Politika” daily, VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski said that no member of Parliament has a mandate to amend the Constitution, since that was not an issue at the last elections, so a new election is needed before any such vote. Macedonia is under pressure from Bulgaria to amend the Constitution and to include the Bulgarian minority in it – a move that VMRO-DPMNE rejects and denies the needed majority to the ruling SDSM – DUI coalition.

Our priority is to focus our energy toward meeting the European standards, that will improve lives of our people and bring us close to Europe. I believe in the mandate theory, meaning that a party goes to the elections with a program and promises about what it will do in the coming period. In Macedonia, nobody was given mandate at the last elections to amend the Constitution. That is why I believe that the early elections are the only way for the citizens to say what they believe and where want Macedonia to go in the coming period. I would add that latest polls show that 60 percent of the people are not satisfied with the work of the current Government, in the economy, in the rule of law, in the meeting of European criteria, Mickoski said.

Discussing the Bulgarian conditions imposed on Macedonia, Mickoski said that the process should be guided through the objective Copenhagen criteria. “European integration of any candidate country should not be conditioned on subjective political criteria, but only with general, objective criteria that will apply to all. Unprincipled behavior breeds frustration and apathy. The Western Balkan countries have a serious enough challenge to meet the Copenhagen criteria, fighting organized crime, ensuring the rule of law, economic and social issues. That is our homework and that is where we should focus our energy, Mickoski said.

Mickoski spoke to “Politika” on the jubilee of the paper. He said that relations between Macedonia and Serbia are in need of improvement, in developing road and railroad infrastructure and energy links.