
Will Trump wink at Mickoski?
While Prime Minister Mickoski is preparing for the important meetings he will have in Washington, it would be much better if he found a way to meet with another Donald. The Donald from Warsaw, who now leads the EU.
A great fanfare of praise arose for the invitation of our Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski to attend the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. He was the only one from the region to be accorded such an honor. This is of immense importance for the future of Macedonia, the party and media propagandists of the government will tell everyone.
The fact that so far there have been no invitations to high-ranking state officials at the presidential inaugurations of American presidents has no significance for the magnitude of the event, because there is an excellent chance that Trump will wink at Mickoski, as happened to former President Gjorge Ivanov when he winked at President Barack Obama at the prayer breakfast. An event that, due to its significance and benefits, has acquired historical dimensions of ridicule that has remained in the collective memory. Even, this time something more may happen, so that Trump and Mickoski shake hands and take a picture for a souvenir and a long memory.
While Prime Minister Mickoski is preparing for the important meetings he will have in Washington, it would be much better if he found a way to meet another Donald. Not in a casual and courteous manner, on the sidelines of a summit. A well-prepared meeting with Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, which holds the presidency of the EU, is necessary not only to find out why the EU has given up on Macedonia and no longer mentions it in its plans for enlargement, although the answer is already known and worrying, but to really find a solution so that Macedonia does not remain completely isolated and forgotten. Such an official visit to Poland, if our diplomacy manages to secure it, could be much more useful than "Pinky saw Tito" in America, that is, than Trump's wink.
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The EU's historic mistake
Let's remember what this is about and why such strong activity, a diplomatic offensive by Macedonia in several directions, is necessary. In October 2019, when the entire country expected negotiations with the EU to begin, the French veto fell, causing shock, great revolt and disappointment in the public after the concessions made with the Prespa Agreement and the Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation with Bulgaria. The shock of such a blow that caused a political earthquake in the country and dramatic consequences was most strongly condemned by Donald Tusk, then President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. Both of them called the decision not to start negotiations with Macedonia and Albania a great historical mistake of the EU.
Yes, it was truly a historical mistake and a great injustice that caused a strong wave of distrust towards the EU in Macedonia. Even after three whole years, an attempt was made to correct the historical mistake and start negotiations with the EU, but with the condition that constitutional changes be made and the Bulgarians enter the Constitution. This caused the fall of the government and a new isolation of Macedonia in domestic political primitive and populist battles. This time, the historical mistake has been transferred from Europe to Macedonia, to decide for itself whether to accept the EU rules. While all of Macedonia's neighbors from the Western Balkans are in negotiations with the EU, except for Kosovo. Our self-blockade has turned into heroism and patriotism, national pride and dignity. Now the new government has sent its "veto" demanding guarantees that there will be no more stumbling blocks in the negotiations for EU membership. After this suicidal move and despite the historical injustice, it seems that everyone in the EU was relieved when the government decided that we ourselves were to blame. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski "heroically" stated that bureaucrats from Brussels should let him know when they were ready to provide the necessary guarantees for unhindered negotiations.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is now needed for support while Poland presides over the Union to provide the straw that Mickoski can grab for Macedonia to continue negotiations with the EU together with Albania, as a gesture to correct the historical mistake as he once called the decision of the European Council not to start negotiations with Macedonia and Albania. Instead of such a step, our Prime Minister sent the historically arrogant message to let him know when they are ready in Brussels to provide guarantees for the delayed implementation of the constitutional amendments without hindering the negotiations with new vetoes. From there came the repeated response with "regret" only to grow into silence after our meaningless heroism as if Macedonia did not exist. They do not mention it anymore.
EU membership is not an obligation
EU enlargement priorities are Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia if it complies with the sanctions on Russia, and Macedonia is nowhere to be found. However, there is one essential message without naming us, which was sent to us by the influential in Europe, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, in which he decisively says: "EU membership is not an obligation, but a free choice of a country and its citizens. When you decide to join us, you must accept the general rules of the EU". What can be said about this. Either we will continue to shout injustice, injustice... or a road under our feet, straight to Warsaw, Paris, Berlin, Ljubljana, Brussels, Sofia... and at the same time, nothing will be difficult for our authorities to do when it comes to achieving the strategic interests of the state. They must seek and find a way out as painlessly as possible to free themselves from pre-election promises and lies, that they will cancel them, or that they will make better agreements with their neighbors.
The choice of the majority of Macedonian citizens is still EU membership, although negative propaganda against the EU is growing and the number of citizens who see Macedonia's future in the European Union is decreasing. Prime Minister Mickoski and his ministers say on every occasion and public appearance that negotiations with the EU and EU membership are a top priority. But they only say that, because they do nothing to make it happen. On the contrary, they do a lot to prevent it from happening with their policies – either shoot or stab.
When the more serious consequences of Macedonia's isolation and the admission of its neighbors to the EU begin to be felt and when their invoices arrive, as did the Greek and Bulgarian ones, then it will have no meaning for those who were right when they did not ask what the price of the concessions is, but what the price of Macedonia not being a member of the EU for at least ten years is. Only the naive in politics believe that tomorrow Albania, Serbia and Kosovo as members of the EU will not send us demands for their interests in Macedonia. I do not know if our Prime Minister, a professor of exact sciences, who says he knows mathematics well, has calculated that if over a hundred thousand Macedonians now have Bulgarian citizenship, how many Albanians from Macedonia will have Albanian citizenship, if Albania in two or three years, as is predicted, becomes a member of the EU, and, although less likely, it is more likely than Macedonia in a few years and Serbia becomes a member of the EU, then how many Macedonians will have Serbian citizenship. In that case, Mickoski may end up being the prime minister of the retirement home Macedonia.
Independent
(The author is a journalist and political analyst)
THE LANGUAGE IN WHICH THEY ARE WRITTEN, AS WELL AS THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE COLUMNS, DO NOT ALWAYS REFLECT THE EDITORIAL POLICY OF "FREE PRESS"