The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met today in Skopje with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, as part of her four-day tour of Western Balkan countries, the purpose of which is to present the EU’s economic development plan in detail for the region and addressing bilateral issues.

Ursula von der Leyen, analyzing the EU plan for the economic development of the Western Balkans, noted that this should contribute to the development of the economy, the opening of the European market for the products of the countries of the region, the opening of the regional market, which will result, he said, in achieving a “level playing field in the single European and regional market”.

During the “Berlin Process” Summit for the Western Balkans held in Tirana two weeks ago, the President of the European Commission announced a new European development plan for the Western Balkan countries that could double their economies before the end of this decade.

Tthe plan gives Western Balkan companies access to the European single market in different sectorsbut at the same time calls on the Balkan countries to complete their regional common market and speed up reforms to adapt their standards and norms to European norms and standards.

The intention of the EU is to allocate a package of 6 billion euros for investments and reforms in the Balkansof which €4 billion in loans and €2 billion in subsidies, but makes the investment conditional on compliance with the required reforms.

Also, the president of the European Commission, in her statements after her meeting with Dimitar Kovacevsky, referring to “burning” political issue for North Macedoniathat of amending its Constitution to include the country’s Bulgarian minority, announced that all parties in the country must support constitutional changes so that North Macedonia can continue its European path.

“It is about your future, about your choice and all parties have a responsibility for the future of North Macedonia. We want North Macedonia to become a member of the EU and I hope that a move forward will be good and supported by a broad majority,” von der Leyen said.

The possibility of amending the Constitution, based on an agreement between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, in order to include the Bulgarian minority living in North Macedonia, has been causing tremors and confrontations in Skopje for over a year.

Bulgaria, in the past period, has been preventing the start of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the EU due to open ethnic, linguistic and historical differences between the two countries, which has caused strong reactions from Skopje.

However, in the summer of 2022, the two countries reached an agreement, based on a proposal from the European Union, according to which Sofia would lift its veto on the start of Skopje’s accession negotiations with the EU, with condition that North Macedonia will proceed to amend its Constitution, with the inclusion in it of the Bulgarian people living in the country.

This agreement provokes strong reactions from North Macedonia’s largest opposition party, the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE, which has declared in all tones that it will not consent to such an amendment to the country’s Constitution. According to polls, 70% of the country’s citizens of Slavic origin are against this agreement and by extension against this amendment to the Constitution. On the contrary, the vast majority of citizens of Albanian ethnic origin are in favor of amending the Constitution.

Amending the Constitution of North Macedonia requires a 2/3 majority in Parliament, which the government in Skopje and the parties supporting the agreement with Bulgaria do not currently have.

According to the last population census carried out in 2021 in North Macedonia, Bulgarians make up only 0.2% of the country’s population (a total of 3,500 people), a fact which the official Sofia disputes and considers that the percentage of Bulgarians in North Macedonia it is much larger.

Skopje was the first stop of this European Commission president’s tour. Later in the day she will travel to Pristina and tomorrow, Tuesday, she will visit Montenegro and Serbia, while she will conclude her tour on Wednesday with a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.