At a briefing with journalists on Friday on the European agenda, PM Hristijan Mickoski stated that an essential shift in talks with Bulgaria regarding guarantees that there would be no new demands following the constitutional changes could be expected after New Year’s, as an initiative of third, EU, countries. The government, he added, is ready for talks for the process to be unlocked.
“However, for that to materialise, there should be also pressure by some stronger side. That requires more serious action by other centres of power”, the PM noted, adding that he’d already talked, in addition to European Council President Antonio Costa, to two EU counterparts.
The briefing was held two days after an event at which SDSM leader Venko Filipce had asked for political consensus in Parliament over the constitutional changes. Previously, he’d announced he would submit also a resolution on red lines in the negotiating process with the EU. Mickoski, regarding that, stated that he’d been waiting for Filipce’s resolution for a month already, but it was yet to come.
SDSM, however, explained that there was a slow preparation of the document because it had to be well-founded.
The EU also expects North Macedonia to complete reform agenda-related tasks. However, the European Affairs Minister, Orhan Murtezani, expects North Macedonia to receive the highest mark in the December report, that is, to be ahead of Albania and Montenegro. 39 steps remain over which, according to the Growth Plan, North Macedonia will get financial assistance of 134 million euros.
Judiciary-related laws are still the biggest problem, that is, the EU requires that 1.3% of the budget (around 100 million euros) be allocated for the sector.
However, PM Hristijan Mickoski is not budging when it comes to higher pay of judges, prosecutors, and members of the Judicial Council and Council of Public Prosecutors as long as, as he said, confidence in them is at a level of just 2%.
A comparative analysis is being carried out of what work is done and how much the pay is of judges and prosecutors in five EU countries: Germany, France, Croatia, and one each from Central Europe and the Scandinavian peninsula. Work on the Criminal Code is at the closing stage as well, in relation to which the EU requires that the issue of Article 353 (abuse of official position) be solved.
However, there’s a requirement for a change of the accelerated expiration of the statute of limitations, adopted by the previous ruling structure through the use of the EU flag procedure.