Thewesternbalkans
According to MIA, on 12 of October, the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), Hristijan Mickoski said that the place of this small country (the Republic of North Macedonia) is in the European Union, but not at any cost.
Mickoski spoke in Prilep, where the RNM celebrates the Day of the People’s Uprising (an attack by Macedonian partisans against Bulgarian forces in Prilep in 1944 and a day that Skopje considers the beginning of the uprising against the „fascist occupation“).
Mickoski called on the European Council to state in the conclusion of its next session that none of its members have a problem with the special Macedonian identity, language, and culture.
“We need to send a clear political message – YES to the European Union, NO to bilateral conditions, and YES to the guarantees from the European Council, which, if it truly wants to see this small country as part of Europe, should send a conclusion at the next European Council meeting stating clearly that none of them have a problem with the special Macedonian identity, with the Macedonian language, codified 80 years ago, and with a centuries-old culture and tradition.
„And let’s not talk about more vetoes and obstacles caused by bilateral issues. Our eastern neighbour must demonstrate European maturity and true European values and respect international law, which has determined that the decisions of the Court of Human Rights must be implemented. Finally, the Macedonian people in Western Bulgaria must receive what they have long been entitled to, namely to be able to unite in a community, and then to nominate their representative to the Ministry Council for Minority Rights in the Bulgarian government. These are the red lines,” emphasized Mickoski.
Comments: The reason for Mickoski’s statement should be taken into account – the beginning of his country’s ‘liberation.’ Nevertheless, his proposals and “red lines” are quite unrealistic, and he probably realizes that himself. On the other hand, Mickoski sees (from Zelensky, for example) that in dialogue with the Brussels bureaucrats, the brutal and audacious approach yields results.
