Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stated today that the Action Plan for Minorities is fully prepared and aligned with a human rights expert proposed by the European Commission, and unofficially received support from 26 member states of the European Union, reported MIA.
Answering a journalist’s question after the visit to the Institute of Public Health in Skopje, Mickoski indicated that only one member state has comments on the document.
– The action plan for minorities is ready, coordinated with an expert we received from the European Commission. It is about a human rights expert. There were two public hearings, something rarely done by any country. Unofficially, the document is harmonized with 26 member states, except one. That same country is also against our joining the “Three Seas” initiative. That is the reality – said Mickoski.
When asked what that country is specifically looking for, the prime minister answered briefly:
– If I knew, I would have given you an answer.
The proposal-action plan for the protection and promotion of the rights of the members of the communities was prepared in Macedonian and English by domestic and international experts, in coordination with Council of Europe and European Commission.
The document contains specific measures, deadlines and competent institutions and, according to the Government, is fully compliant with the highest European standards. However, since January of this year, he has been subject to criticism by Bulgaria.
Mickoski previously stated that he warned the European partners from the beginning that, no matter how high-quality the document will be, there is a possibility that it will be blocked by Sofia.
– Exactly what I warned about happened. And the best Action Plan for minorities to make, it was challenged again. I am sorry that once again an opportunity to show good neighborliness was missed. Not a single member state had any objections, and not a single minority in the country had any objections during the public debate. The problem was that the document was in the Macedonian language – said Mickoski in January.
At the end of last month, after the meeting with the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej PlenkovicMickoski reiterated that the Government is ready to adopt the plan as soon as it receives the green light from Brussels.
– The action plan is ready and we are waiting for a signal from Brussels to put it in the government session. We deliver what we promise. But if bilateral issues remain a criterion for our European path, then we will have to fight in another way. Our strategy remains focused on the reforms that we need, first of all, ourselves – emphasized the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian president Rumen Radevspeaking before the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat, stated that Sofia supports the expansion of the Union, but only on the basis of real merits and implemented reforms.
– Our position is that we should not transfer inherited political and historical problems to the European Union and we will continue to firmly defend that position – said Radev, adding that European integration implies reforms in the judiciary, the rule of law, the protection of human rights and the development of good neighborly relations.
