نخست‌وزیر میکوسکی: مقدونیه شمالی در مسیر عضویت در اتحادیه اروپا آزار دیده است
مقدونیه شمالی که بیش از دو دهه را در اتاق انتظار عضویت در اتحادیه اروپا گذرانده، امیدوار است که این انتظار بالاخره به پایان برسد. میکوسکی، نخست‌وزیر این کشور، به یورونیوز می‌گوید که عضویت کشورش به دلیل «اختلافات ساختگی» به تأخیر افتاده است.
لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2025/11/10/pm-mykoski-says-north-macedonia-has-been-harassed-on-its-path-to-eu-membership
مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست
00:00This is indeed Euronews new format, 12 minutes with, and we are going to have 12 minutes with
00:15Christian Mitskoski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia. Thank you for being here.
00:19Thank you for the invitation, of course.
00:21You are a very experienced candidate, if I may say.
00:26Now, the country submitted the application in March 2004.
00:31Practically, we started this journey more than two decades ago, two decades and a half, 25 years ago.
00:4025 years ago, we signed that Stability and Association Agreement with the European Union.
00:48We've become a candidate country since 2005, together with Croatia.
00:54We received the first positive report for starting negotiations in 2009, together with Croatia.
01:04And unfortunately, we are in the same place where we were 25 years ago, due to some artificial reasons.
01:11Not because of the Copenhagen criteria, not because of the fulfilling some objectives, but because of some artificial disputes.
01:22Such are our national flag, our national name, our country name, change of constitution this, change of constitution that.
01:30But again, there is another hurdle, another constraint imposed in front of us for changing of constitution.
01:37So, it's not about fulfilling recommendations and Copenhagen criteria.
01:43You're calling them artificial.
01:44How does it make you feel, knowing that for over two decades officially, in the candidate status, yet again, there is more and more roadblocks?
01:53We do believe that our future is in the European Union.
01:58We are a part of the European continent.
02:01And we do believe that integration of Western Balkans in the EU means added value for the EU itself.
02:09And this means reunification on a sort of way of the European continent.
02:16And I do think that the future of my country and the future of my nation, Macedonians, is within the European Union.
02:25And therefore, despite all those humiliations and disappointments, and despite the current frustration, which is inside of our citizens, we do share the same values.
02:38Let's talk a little more in detail about some of those.
02:41And right after finding an arrangement with Greece, you then faced a veto from Bulgaria.
02:48And this is the current situation.
02:50This issue of unanimity and then the vetoes, obviously, is a very important conversation.
02:55And do you know exactly how long it can take?
02:59We know what unanimity means for us and what type of sacrifice we've did in the past.
03:08But nevertheless, this is a past.
03:11I would like to talk about the current situation.
03:16When there was a press agreement on the table and when this name issue was on the table,
03:25a lot of people from all over the world came into our capital in Skopje trying to convince us that,
03:32look, you are the frontrunners in the region, you are far, far ahead compared with the other countries from the Western Balkans,
03:41immediately when you will provide solution for this dispute, then probably immediately you've become a member of NATO.
03:48And it takes probably, it will take probably four or five years and you will become a member of EU.
03:54Those four or five years expired two years ago.
03:58And we are at the same place where we were two and a half decades ago.
04:03Why?
04:03Because now a new hurdle, new constraint is in front of us.
04:08Again, change of a constitution.
04:10We need to add into the preambula of our constitution, which is a descriptive part of our constitution,
04:20a part of Bulgarian people which are living in our country.
04:26And according to the last census data, we are talking about a couple of hundred people.
04:31We are not talking about millions.
04:33We are not talking about hundreds of thousands of people.
04:35We are talking about literally a couple of hundred people, which declared during the last census that their mother tongue is Bulgarian language.
04:47But however, citizens of my country, full of frustration, are asking me,
04:53OK, Prime Minister, what is now?
04:55What is now the problem?
04:57Why we need to change our constitution again?
05:01OK, if we do this, this will be the last one, or probably there will be some additional in the future.
05:12Why we need to bring a couple of hundred citizens of our country into our constitution?
05:20We are talking about violation of someone's human rights.
05:24Who we are politicians to judge whether someone's rights is being violated or not.
05:29We can only misuse that issue.
05:32The real institution, which is judging whether someone's rights is being violated or not, is in Strasbourg.
05:39And what the European Court for Human Rights says, during the last couple of years,
05:4614 times in favor of Macedonian community in Bulgaria,
05:52and zero times in favor of Bulgarian community in my country.
05:57So, then there is another question, additional question.
06:02Why we should change our constitution then?
06:06Why we are not talking about Macedonian community in Bulgaria?
06:10What about their human rights?
06:13What about their human rights?
06:15Because they are not allowed to register non-governmental organization.
06:21We are not talking about change of Bulgarian constitution.
06:24We are not talking about a sort of reciprocity.
06:27We are talking about registering non-governmental organization.
06:32And what we are saying, okay, previous, the best corruptive government in Europe
06:38accepted that deal to change constitution, suspending the parliament in my country,
06:45suspending the voice of the parliament in my country.
06:48And they are now in the history.
06:51There is a new government.
06:53And this new government is saying, okay, those guys, those ladies and gentlemen, accept it.
07:01But what about international law?
07:05What about resolution that is protecting human rights in the countries which are in the perimeter of the European Union?
07:15How do you communicate that specifically with this community?
07:19How do you build this dialogue with them, trying to convince them, probably, or explain it to them?
07:27You mean about Bulgarian community?
07:31They have all the rights.
07:33Our constitution is that like.
07:36They have literally all the rights.
07:39Practically, they are a part of our institutions.
07:42But, okay, again, I'm saying, okay, they are in, we are out.
07:47This is a bit of bullying, okay?
07:49We would like to see ourselves on the table in Brussels.
07:53And what is now the price?
07:56And whether this is the last price that we should pay?
07:59This is the real question.
08:01How do you see the other EU membership hopefuls, the candidate countries,
08:05who are facing quite similar obstacles on their path?
08:10What would be some kind of piece of advice that you could share with your experience?
08:14Again, given that you had to overcome first one veto, then the second one veto,
08:19and then, as you said, who knows which one might come next?
08:24I can't remember a similar case.
08:28Maybe in the past that was a dispute between Slovenia and Croatia.
08:31In the meantime, there is a certain veto happening now with the candidate countries,
08:37as we've heard with the president of Ukraine and the Hungarian.
08:40I'm talking about the past.
08:41About the current situation, I'm not surprised.
08:44I'm not surprised that the similar situation will occur in the future.
08:47Because if someone is witnessing that this veto tool works,
08:54then we should apply the same recipe.
08:57Why not?
08:58Because if someone dares to bully someone else who wants to join the club,
09:04why the others should be silent?
09:07This is not normal.
09:07If we are accepting that principle once,
09:13then this principle will destroy all the values developed by Degasperi, Schumann and Adonauer
09:19when this organization was developed.
09:23So, the European Union itself should ask themselves what we are doing.
09:30What we are doing with this unanimity.
09:32And is it according to the principles and values based on which we have been developed?
09:41And in this current situation, my final question to you would be,
09:45how disappointing it is for average Macedonians to, as you say,
09:50for over two decades to be, these are generations who have been waiting for over two decades
09:55and yet facing these roadblocks.
09:57Very much.
09:58Are they losing the motivation to join the European Union?
10:01No, definitely.
10:02The support is the highest in the region, maybe, or among the highest in the region.
10:06I'm working as a professor and teaching mechatronics.
10:09For me, it was in my previous life.
10:12Now I'm the prime minister for almost a year and a half.
10:17But I was very sorry when I was witnessing how my students are willing to depart from the country.
10:25Why?
10:26Because simply they were missing hope.
10:29They felt hopeless.
10:31And most of them are living now in the European countries, in the EU countries.
10:41When I was elected as a prime minister, I said, okay, this is a hurdle.
10:46Probably there will be a lot of challenges in front of us until the very end.
10:50This is the destiny of the small nations.
10:54The big ones are doing what they can and the small ones are doing what they must.
10:58Unfortunately, we are small.
11:00But let's do our homework.
11:01But let's do our homework.
11:03Let's finish our homework.
11:04Let's create a good environment.
11:06Let's bring back home youngsters.
11:08And let's develop something that will be good for them.
11:12And let's deliver homework that will impress EU.
11:17And maybe then someone from EU will say enough is enough.
11:22Let's do something for them.
11:23Otherwise, this is damaging our values and practically this does not have a future.
11:32And that's why I do believe that we need to finish our homework and we are delivering since we were elected as a government.
11:41Thank you very much.
11:42We'll have to wrap it up here.
11:43Thank you for this experience and for sharing it with us here for the enlargement talks.
11:48That was 12 minutes with Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Ristian Mitskoski.
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