Macedonians would be able to decide through a referendum about the friendship treaty with Bulgaria. The largest opposition party of the country is collecting signatures for the initiative. The treaty signed with Bulgaria in 2017 is the basis of Sofia’s demands, VMRO DPMNE says. Bulgaria has been vetoing the start of EU accession negotiations with Macedonia for years. The Macedonians demand the same treatment from the EU as it granted to other member states which have already joined the bloc, VMRO Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski said in an exclusive interview with the V4NA news agency.

People should decide about relations with Bulgaria

The largest Macedonian opposition party decided on 5 September to initiate a referendum on the earlier friendship treaty with Bulgaria. That document was signed by then Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev. The agreement was meant to settle relations between the two countries, but Sofia has been blocking the path of Macedonia towards the EU for years, and has vetoed the beginning of the country’s accession negotiations.

Speaking about the reasons for calling a referendum, VMRO Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski told V4NA that it was the best and most democratic way for the people to voice their opinions. The relations with Bulgaria are one of, if not, the most important issues for the country, which is why they decided to collect signatures, he said.

This is the most important question for us, among others because Macedonia is being blocked in its EU integration, and the veto is coming from Bulgaria, Nikoloski said.

The opposition politician said that another problem was that the government, quite naively in his opinion, accepted the French proposal which aimed to remove the Bulgarian veto blocking accession talks. As part of the solution, Skopje must amend the country’s constitution and grant more rights to the Bulgarian minority.

These Bulgarian demands date back to 2017, when the then Macedonian and Bulgarian prime ministers concluded the treaty of friendship and good relations. Unfortunately, that treaty did not bring friendship, good relations or cooperation, but a permanent veto to prevent Macedonia from joining the EU. This is why we think that the people should be granted the opportunity to express their opinion about the treaty. We think it is catastrophic, and the source of all Macedonia’s problems, Aleksandar Nikoloski emphasized.

150 thousand signatures needed to mandate a referendum

VMRO DPMNE has already submitted the referendum initiative to the Macedonian parliament. The house of representatives are now tasked with adopting it in the following days so that the collection of signatures can begin. Holding a binding referendum requires 150 thousand signatures in support of the idea.

Macedonia deserves to move forward on the route to Europe, and the process is hindered only by the veto of Bulgaria, Nikoloski said, adding that it is impossible that a country can halt the integration of another.

The EU must return to the Copenhagen criteria, which laid out the conditions for accession applied to all countries that have already gained EU membership. If those criteria were considered, Macedonia would have no problems whatsoever progressing on its path towards the EU, the politician said.

We are only asking to be treated in the same manner as those countries which joined earlier or are now negotiating their integration.The same requirements must apply to us as to the others, the opposition leader underlined.

Energy crisis has also reached the Balkans

In the interview with V4NA, the Macedonian politician also spoke about the energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war and the sanctions. The energy situation of Macedonia is catastrophic, because the government has not done much to alleviate it. Aleksandar Nikoloski explained. Although there are enough resources, Macedonia still needs to import foreign electricity.

Macedonia has enough raw materials and resources from which it can produce electricity and cover its own needs, without natural gas. We have enough resources to eliminate reliance on import supplies, but unfortunately the government has almost completely destroyed the system in recent years, and now the country is at the point where half of the electricity consumed must be purchased from abroad, VMRO Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski pointed out.