The annual report of the European Parliament (EP) on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia on the path to the EU will be voted on today at a plenary session in Strasbourg, BTA reported.
It was discussed yesterday in the plenary hall of the EP.
The draft report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia on the path to the EU caused tension in Bulgaria due to the presence in it of the wording "Macedonian language and identity".
It was approved by the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs on June 24 this year with 40 votes "for", 19 "against" and 10 abstentions.
The committee then prevented the European People's Party (EPP) Group from introducing an oral amendment to the text before the words "Macedonian language and identity" were replaced by the term "modern". The EPP, Socialists and Democrats, "Renew Europe" and the Greens announced that they would submit the same amendment in writing before the expected vote on the report in the plenary hall in Strasbourg in July.
Andrzej Halicki (EPP), Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D) and Dan Barna („Renew Europe“) submitted written amendments to delete references to language and identity in the report.
The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska, stated yesterday that the amendments to the European Parliament's report on the country's progress in European integration, with which the EPP, Socialists and Democrats and "Renew Europe” groups propose to remove all references to “Macedonian identity” and “Macedonian language” from the document, show a democratic deficit in the EU.
Siljanovska, quoted by the website „Večer“ stated that the nature of the amendments showed “that not only the world, but also Europe and the EU have a serious problem with democracy“.
In an interview with Kanal 5 last week, Gordana Siljanovska said that the amendments to Thomas Weitz's report show “the disposition of a large group of MEPs and there is nothing European and democratic in them”.
According to her, the rapporteur in the European Parliament for North Macedonia, Austrian MEP Thomas Weitz, did not choose to include “these qualifications for the Macedonian language and identity” in the report by chance.
“Then why would he write it? Because of pressure from us? Out of fear or love for us? No, this is because of the EU's constitutive documents and respect for equality," Siljanovska said.
According to her, in the EU's founding documents, which the European Commissioners should be familiar with, there are clear parameters for what identity is.
"The Charter of Fundamental Rights clearly states that the EU will respect the national and cultural identity of all nations and states, their dignity and integrity. Unity in diversity," Siljanovska specified.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, announced regarding the report that "in a Taliban manner, the Macedonian identity and the Macedonian language are being erased from Europe's report".
The removal of the term "Macedonian identity and Macedonian language" from the EP report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia towards the EU is just as bad as if the word "modern" had been added to this term, said the country's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
Mickoski blamed the previous SDSM government for this, represented by Buyar Osmani (former Foreign Minister), Dimitar Kovačevski (former Prime Minister), Boyan Maričić (former Minister for European Affairs) and others.
Along with the report on the Republic of North Macedonia, the annual reports on the progress of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia towards the EU will also be voted on.