1 So, we’re in for another month of waiting. And another EU Council meeting, EU Summit, or whatever they call the bodies which have been messing around with us for over 30 years, since the Opinion of the Badinter Commission that out of all the former Yugoslav countries only Slovenia and Macedonia met the criteria to be recognized as independent countries by the then European Community.

The Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva, who holds the presidency of the EU, stated in Sofia: “It’s always important to hear what the important member countries have to say on relevant topics. Bulgaria is a leader when it comes to creating our policies towards the Balkans.”
Just great. If Bulgaria is your leader in shaping the policies in the Balkans, we’ll keep on waiting for another date.

Somehow I’m cautious when it comes to the Portuguese initiative. Do you remember the Treaty of Lisbon of June 1992, when under the presidency of Portugal, the then European Community decided that, despite the Opinion of their Badinter Commission, its members wouldn’t recognize a country which contained the word Macedonia in its name? We were lucky that right after Portugal, the presidency of the European Community was held by the United Kingdom and that in December 1992 with the help of the USA the Brits managed to pull the question of our statehood out of Europe, and in April 1993 we became a member of the United Nations.

The United Kingdom is no longer in the EU.

I don’t want to diminish the effort of the Portuguese to get Bulgaria to lift the veto for the start of our accession talks with the EU. Their effort deserves respect. Germany’s effort also deserves respect. I don’t think anyone has put in as much effort as Germany did to push Macedonia towards the EU during the previous six months, when Germany held the presidency of the Union. However, Bulgaria’s interest is more important to the EU than Germany’s interest. As for our interest, they don’t give a damn. And – it is what it is.

That’s why I can’t be an optimist. Because, EU’s cynicism killed Macedonia’s optimism. It’s cynical to speak about self-determination, diversity and respect for the basic human rights as fundamental values of the EU, while in the field you’re understanding of a member country which is denying those values to a country that wants to become a member of the EU. What’s more, the country that wants to join the EU has met the conditions for the start of the accession talks.

What’s the message the EU sends us? There’s no other obstacle for you to start the accession talks with the EU, except to accept Bulgaria’s blackmail and say you’re Bulgarians who woke up one morning and decided to feel like Macedonians. Well, the essence of self-determination is exactly being able to say how you feel. How could you be an optimist, when in the 21st century we have to explain ourselves on that topic with countries of the EU? It’s ridiculous. I mean, it’s tragic, but it’s ridiculous.

And – it’s cynical to repeat over and over again that the integration of the Western Balkans countries is of utmost importance to the EU, while blocking that integration in the field.

2 And just like that, Bulgaria is a leader of the European policies in the Balkans, while we expel Russian diplomats.

I knew there had to be a serious reason why it’s been years since we’ve sent an ambassador in Moscow and why we have only two diplomats in our embassy there. So when the time came for us to expel Russian diplomats, they wouldn’t have anyone to expel.

As if we decided to expel him because we had monitored his activities. We’re lucky that we are in a region of geostrategic importance, where someone else observes the actions of diplomats stationed in Skopje. We let our former prime minister flee the country hidden in the boot of a diplomatic vehicle and he’s still under investigation about how he disappeared while being under the surveillance of the police, but it turns out we had monitored the activities of the diplomats?

Plus, there’s nobody to go after Russian spies. The security services are busy investigating who stole the violets in the centre of Bitola.

3 Where did the rehabilitation of Srgjan Kerim and Valentina Bozinovska come from, so they’re now on the list of advisers to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani? I really want to know how their names were brought up in the government, how in the world it occurred to them to ask for them specifically. What sort of a mechanism has led to this – for them to be assigned public office in just four years, even it if it’s advisory and unpaid office. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kerim and Bozinovska had used their own mechanism to get back to life, as if nothing had happened before. But, I’m really curious how strong that mechanism is for them to be part of the Council to the minister. That means that both parties work together flawlessly because they’re joined at the hip.

After that speech in the night of the knives, if I were Bujar I wouldn’t even talk to Valentina Bozinovska, let alone invite her to be my adviser. What is Bujar thinking? Who were the knives intended for when the adviser called for them in December 2016?

Fortunately, in these four years a critical public was created, one which isn’t afraid to speak out as it was in the time of the long knives. They can’t just sell us this informal government body as a reconciliation process. Because, when the Government speaks about a reconciliation with criminal suspects and instigators of violence, it’s the same thing as when the EU blabbers about how important the Western Balkans are to them.

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski