site.btaVMRO-DPMNE Deputy Chair Alexandar Nikoloski Says Party Will Not Support Constitutional Changes under Bulgarian Dictation

Alexandar Nikoloski, Deputy Chair of VMRO-DPMNE, said in a MRT1 interview that changes to the constitution will not be included in any negotiations to form a government if VMRO-DPMNE wins the upcoming elections in North Macedonia. Commenting on a possible coalition with the opposition Albanian parties, who have outlined constitution changes as a highlight in their programme, Nikoloski said that his party has not and will not vote for constitutional changes under Bulgarian dictation.

Nikoloski stressed that if Bulgaria wants "any movement regarding the so-called minority rights" and "wants to talk about the seven hundred or so people" who said they speak Bulgarian and identify as Bulgarian in North Macedonia, it is fair that Bulgaria implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for hundreds of thousands of people from North Macedonian who cannot declare themselves as such in the country's census.

In his interview, Nikoloski said that if in the 1990s the people of North Macedonia were ready for "certain national concessions", citing as examples the change of the flag, the name of the country, "the abandonment of national minorities in Greece and Bulgaria", 35 years later "people are tired of giving way".

He stressed that is Bulgaria wants to build goodneighbourly relations, they must go both ways, and that his party will not stand for any intimidation. 

Nikoloski said that the inclusion of Treaty of Friendship, Goodneighbourliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and North Macedonia in the negotiation framework, as well as the protocols between the two governments and the ongoing meetings of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission held under Article 12 of the Treaty, means that "parallel negotiations" will be conducted.

He argued that North Macedonia's strategy should be to solve the problem of crime and corruption, then "the pressure will go to Bulgaria", which will withdraw "from these nationalist policies".

Nikoloski said that it is a "big mistake" to claim that North Macedonia is negotiating with the European Union, that there are "5-6 large EU member states, excluding Germany", who believe that North Macedonia does not deserve to start negotiations with the EU, and Bulgaria is a good excuse, and this is the main reason "why no one is putting pressure on Bulgaria, but everyone is putting pressure on North Macedonia".

"I guarantee you, although this dark scenario will not happen, because we will not allow it, if North Macedonia changes the constitution in favour of Bulgaria, this will not start negotiations. They will start and stop. The first cluster will be officially opened and there will be a veto, not by Bulgaria, but by other EU member states, due to the rule of law," said Nikoloski.