1 Picture one – Sitting in the shade by the lake, a little bit of Oteshevo, a little bit of Ohrid. There, the whole Government, all the ambassadors, politicians, ministers, journalists, experts, analysts…The whole world has gathered in one place, America and Europe are discussing the importance of the Western Balkans, the region’s European perspectives, global security and other deep topics of high politics. That’s called “The Prespa Forum – Dialogue.”
Picture two – the center of the capital. It’s scorching hot, forty degrees, the whole country is in the orange level. Hundreds of people have been waiting outside on the stairs; if a south wind from the Sahara blows, you feel like someone’s turned on a hair dryer in all that heat. Inside, you can’t even breathe. Some have their masks on, some don’t, people covered in sweat, sticky women, men, whole families, squished together, children crying, people fainting, some are on the phone trying to pull some strings to jump the queue, some are giving each other water to cool down, others are shouting, threatening, ready to fight… This picture isn’t from an emergency evacuation, the people there aren’t fighting to save themselves, but to get identity documents in the premises where people have their photo taken by the state for ID cards, passports, driver’s licenses. Then, it occurs to someone in the crowd to shout out loud “Call the police,” and the others laugh at him: “What police are you talking about, we’re at the police station.”
And that’s our everyday life far from the glamor of the European integration processes. You call the police, but the police can’t help you although you’re right there at the police station. You request a service from the state you pay taxes to, but the state doesn’t get things done although you’ve asked a state institution which is responsible to get things done for you on time. It’s not just the Ministry of Internal Affairs. That’s the case with all other institutions. None of them are there for you when you need them. Calling the police at the police station – that’s our real Prespa dialogue.
2 So, I’m not too worried about the second Bulgarian veto on the start of the accession talks with the EU, although honestly, I’m already tired of waiting and I’m getting lethargic. I’m worried that at this point no matter what ruling elite we elect in the future, they’ll always have an excuse for their own failures, just as they used to make excuses with Greece for 25 years. Now, Bulgaria is the new Greece. But even scarier.
In vain, President Stevo Pendarovski hopes that the EU enlargement will now be the priority of the Slovenian presidency, and that’s why it‘s good that the Portuguese presidency is over. The start of the accession talks with Macedonia and Albania was a priority for Germany too, but even they failed. The Portuguese proposal, which our guys call a good basis for progress, was an upgraded German proposal. Now the Slovenes will make an upgraded Portuguese proposal. Then the French will follow. They won’t even make a proposal, because the EU presidency will coincide with their presidential election. Everyone’s changed, only Bulgaria remains still with their veto. So, it’s in vain that our Government says that we want to negotiate, since we have nothing to negotiate over, because Bulgaria accepted neither the German, nor the Portuguese proposal.
Plus, if Bulgaria has decided to use the veto on Macedonia to fight the battle against their EU partners with the aim to join the Schengen system – there’s nothing we can do about it. And if the topic of the dialogue is “either you’ll admit that you are Bulgarian and speak Bulgarian, or so much for the idea of you joining the EU”, then – so much for the idea of us joining the EU.
3 For a year and a half we’ve been dealing with the consequences of the Covid crisis and the consequences of the Bulgarian veto. Because for a year and a half, apart from Covid and Bulgaria, we’ve had no other news in the country. We count the dead and we count Bulgarian vetoes. But, we’re the ones facing those consequences, not the government.
It’s obvious that we’ve been caught up in a new whirlwind, one which we may not be able to escape from in the next thirty years. Even if that’s the case, what are we to do with our living here? When will that become a priority for every government, if we ever decide that we aren’t ready to be reduced lower than this just to become part of the EU? It’s stupid that every morning the minute we wake up we rush to see what Sofia has said and how that’s been commented on by Washington and Brussels, instead of seeing what’s happening to us in Skopje… It’s embarrassing that the international community serves as the government’s conscience, or as Zaev tends to say, the whip for the government, instead of the citizens who pay taxes and vote in elections.
4 The President of the Assembly Talat Xhaferi went to the European Parliament in Brussels and spoke in Albanian, although according to the Constitution, Macedonian is the official language for international use.
Xhaferi is the second-in-command of the country. As a legislator, he must know that the Constitution is stronger than the law which stipulates that he can speak in Albanian in the Macedonian Assembly. Abroad, the official language is Macedonian. Plus, Xhaferi knows Macedonian, he’s not like his leader Ali Ahmeti. However, the President of the Assembly, in the style of his fellow party member Ramiz Merko, says “I couldn’t care less”. Since they’re a green party, they’re above the Constitution.
All right – let’s say that Albanians were happy that Xhaferi spoke Albanian in Brussels. Will Macedonians get to be happy? Or, perhaps, the greater the humiliation of Macedonians, the more successful DUI’s campaign.
While SDSM is concerned about what foreigners are going to say, DUI is concerned only with Albanians. Because, if the interests of Macedonians are defended, it’s not politically correct; when it comes to the interests of Albanians everything is politically correct.
The weaker their partner in the government, the higher the price of DUI.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
