The Albanian opposition parties – Alliance of Albanians and Alternative, announced they will submit their proposal for a citizenship law to the Government on Monday.

The parties, and the ruling SDSM party, are tight-lipped about the proposal which was agreed between party leaders Zoran Zaev, Ziadin Sela and Afrim Gashi last week. AA and Alternative claim that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of ethnc Albanians who live in Macedonia but don’t have citizenship yet, and initially proposed a law that would have accepted their applications simply if they provide several witnesses to testify that they live here.

The proposal is entirely at odds with European law, but Zaev seems open to other ideas – he mentioned the Jus Soli principle, which could give Albanians and others born in Macedonia the right to seek citizenship. Macedonian maternity clinics are often used by Albanians from Kosovo and introducing this principle could mean that thousands of people with little to no connection to Macedonia become eligible for citizenship.

Zaev claimed ignorance when asked what he agreed with the two parties.

I haven’t seen the proposal, the idea is that they submit it first to the experts and to the Interior Ministry and then give it to my cabinet, he said.

AA and Alternative threatened to filibuster all legislation in the Parliament until this demand is met.