President of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska Davkova stated in Skopje on Nov. 7 that “Macedonian integration into Europe must be based on the same criteria that apply on other candidates.”
Her office has announced that Siljanovska Davkova said this during a meeting with Slovenian Ambassador Gregor Presker about North Macedonia’s process of EU accession. The president reiterated the stance that this process should take place “according to the principle of merit and with the consistent implementation of the Copenhagen criteria.”
Skopje formally started the “first phase” of EU negotiations in July 2022. However, in order to move to the “second phase” and start opening chapters, it has to introduce Bulgarians as a national minority in the Constitution, which the party of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, the VMRO-DPMNE, is blocking.
As a solution for overcoming this obstacle, Mickoski has proposed to Brussels and Sofia that the constitutional amendments be deferred and take effect only after North Macedonia completes its negotiations with the EU, but this has not been accepted so far.
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