Critical of the president of North Macedonia Gordana Silianovska-Dafkova appears the representative of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) for Western Balkans issues Josip Yuratovich, who, in an exclusive interview with APE-MPE, believes that the resurgence of the naming issue will damage the country’s accession perspective to the European Union. Mr. Juratovic underlines that the Prespa Agreement is still valid, as is the change that has been made to the Constitution of North Macedonia.

“It is certainly the political freedom of the president, although I personally do not consider it good, as the constitutional change has taken place and there was an agreement with Greece about the name. I think that Greece will continue to support North Macedonia’s EU accession process, but I think that this action (no. of the president of North Macedonia) will be rather damaging, and certainly not helping North Macedonia on its way to the EU,” characteristically states the executive of the Social Democrats to APE, stressing at the same time that the country’s president “can rhetorically say whatever she wants, but there is a change in the Constitution and the name is clearly North Macedonia”.

Referring to the effect that the actions of the new leadership of North Macedonia may have on its accession prospects, Mr. Juratovic expresses the belief that “Greece, as a mature and stable democracy, will not respond to such challenges, but will act realistically , because the accession process and the rapid integration of the entire region into the EU, whether it is North Macedonia or Albania or later Serbia and all the Western Balkans, would only be to its benefit.”

Answering a question about whether the German government should take a role in this phase, possibly by communicating directly with the newly elected government in Skopje, Josip Juratovic, himself originally from Croatia, speaks of significant successes of the “Process of Berlin” in the region and for serious economic cooperation efforts. “However, when it comes to socio-political issues, we will certainly have discussions in this regard with North Macedonia and we will clearly express our views and expectations”, he points out and asks at the same time “much greater commitment” from the European Union for the entire Western Balkans region.

In the same spirit, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding last Monday to APE-MPE’s question, emphasized that “North Macedonia is bound by International Law by the Prespa Agreement”, also pointing out that “it is important for North Macedonia to continue its its path towards the E.U. and implement the required reforms.”