The former president of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski has sharply criticized the rulers in the country, stating that the government in Skopje has no real intention of moving the country towards the European Union, nor of making the necessary constitutional changes, including the inclusion of Bulgarians as a state-created people, News.bg reports.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Pendarovski emphasized that the authorities demonstrate only “bare rhetoric“ regarding European integration, while in reality “they have no intention of changing the Constitution, including the inclusion of Bulgarians or moving towards Europe“.
“We are the first case in the history of European integration in which a candidate country sets conditions for a member state - Bulgaria - to recognize decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, to recognize the Macedonian minority and others“, said Pendarovski. According to him, such statements are aimed primarily at the domestic audience, and not at a real dialogue with Brussels.
The former head of state expressed concern about Skopje's geopolitical orientation towards countries such as Hungary and the United States under Donald Trump, which, according to him, represent “anti-liberal“ and “ anti-European“ models of governance.
“Hungary is a country from which the rulers claim that we should learn, but at the same time it is the subject of an active procedure for revoking its voting rights in the EU“, said Pendarovski.
He warned that the blockage in relations with Bulgaria and the lack of political will could put North Macedonia at a disadvantage compared to other candidates for EU membership, such as Moldova, which already occupies a more advanced position in the process joining.