Von der Leyen Demands Constitutional Change in Skopje
After Pristina and Podgorica, the Commission president repeated in Skopje that a constitutional change is the condition for the Fundamentals cluster. Mickoski wants talks with Bulgaria.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Skopje on Friday, October 2, that amending the Constitution is the essential step North Macedonia must take to continue accession talks and open the Fundamentals cluster. Serbia is not on this tour, but a candidate country’s dispute with a neighboring EU member, one that has stalled the whole country’s European path, concerns the entire region.
Von der Leyen arrived in Skopje after visits to Pristina and Podgorica, part of her tour of the Western Balkans. We previously reported on her stay in Tirana and on the fact that Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not on her route. In Skopje she held talks with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and the country’s leadership.
What does Brussels want from Skopje?
At a press conference, Von der Leyen said North Macedonia belongs in the European Union and that the Union will welcome it with its identity and its language. She also praised the country’s progress under the Growth Plan and announced additional payments in the coming weeks.
She cited the Prespa Agreement as an example of political courage and said the country has once again shown that it can make bold decisions about its future.
“North Macedonia belongs to the European Union”
That is how the Commission president summed up her message to Skopje. The condition remains what it was: under the so-called French proposal of 2022, North Macedonia must write the Bulgarian minority into the preamble of its Constitution. The government in Skopje refuses to do so without firm guarantees from the European Union, so the dispute with Sofia keeps the accession process blocked.
What did Mickoski announce toward Sofia?
After the meeting, the prime minister said he discussed reforms with Von der Leyen, along with the pace of the accession process and the challenges that have weighed on the country’s path to the Union for years. In his words, Brussels is not being asked to pick a side.
“We are not asking the European Union to take sides”
He then revealed a concrete move. Foreign and Trade Minister Timco Mucunski is in Sofia next week, and Mickoski asked him to send a diplomatic note and request a bilateral meeting. He explained it this way:
“Next week Foreign and Trade Minister Timco Mucunski is in Sofia. I was advised to ask our hosts for a bilateral meeting. I immediately asked the minister to send a diplomatic note and request a meeting so that we can start the process.”
With that, the prime minister named the channel Skopje intends to use to open a conversation with Bulgaria. The statements available to the newsroom contain no response from Sofia to the request.
What does Mickoski want in return?
The prime minister repeated that Skopje wants dialogue with Bulgaria and set a condition about the nature of any solution.
“Our wish is for open issues to be overcome through dialogue, in good faith and with mutual respect. Any solution must create certainty that once it is fulfilled, one phase closes and the path to the next one opens, with no room for new interpretations or additional demands.”
Mickoski added that if the state is expected to take decisions with long-term consequences, there is a justified expectation of a clear European perspective for what follows.
“The goal is not to delay the process, but to create conditions for it to finally move forward on a stable and sustainable footing”
He also confirmed the country’s strategic commitment to membership, saying North Macedonia is meeting its obligations and carrying out the necessary reforms. Citizens, he said, should feel European integration even before formal membership, through wider access to the single market, new economic opportunities, better infrastructure links, investment and more opportunities for young people.
So far, then, the two sides differ not on the goal but on the sequence: Brussels wants a constitutional change as the condition for opening the cluster, while Skopje first wants guarantees that it will not trigger new demands. The first event to watch is Minister Mucunski’s visit to Sofia next week.
