Skopje, 30 May 2023 (MIA) - The Government is set to adopt Tuesday the initiative on constitutional amendments drafted by the working group and submit it to the Parliament, where it requires a two-thirds majority.

President Stevo Pendarovski confirmed yesterday he has been familiarized with the content of the constitutional amendments, saying they are in line with what has been agreed "and fully within the frameworks of what Parliament adopted a year ago”.

“Today, I believe it is better to submit it to Parliament, even under the assumption that there aren’t 80 votes secured. With the very first vote that requires two-thirds, the two main blocs in the country would be identified – the pro-European and the anti-European bloc,” said Pendarovski.

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said he expected all political parties and MPs to vote for the constitutional amendments for the sake of the people.

"I will put forward all decisions that are needed for North Macedonia to resume on its path in the realization of its strategic objective - European Union membership. I hope all political parties in the country and lawmakers will perceive the importance of this decision and vote for the sake of their people and not to benefit any politician in the country," said PM Kovachevski.

Kovachevski has extended an invitation to VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski for a meeting focused on two topics: decisions related to North Macedonia's EU integration and alignment of positions over relations with neighboring countries.

Mickoski said yesterday that he accepted the invitation for the meeting, adding that the PM should be aware about the period following the failure of the constitutional changes, since it would result in the government's collapse.

"I don't have any big hopes from the meeting, although I will attend it because I believe it is always important to take part in discussions about Macedonia's future. Considering the meeting, the PM should be aware about the time after the failure of the constitutional changes," Mickoski told a party debate.

According to him, more than 80 percent of the Macedonian people is against "accepting the Bulgarian dictate and VMRO-DPMNE will not agree to a constitutional revision under these circumstances, not now or in the future".

Last Friday, the working group adopted the draft-initiative over the need for constitutional amendments. The initiative was submitted to the Government, which is then scheduled to forward it to the Parliament.

The amendments relate to the Preamble by adding several peoples. Namely, the Bosniak people is to be followed by the words 'Bulgarian people, Croatian people, Montenegrin people, Slovenian people, Jewish people, Egyptian (Ashkali) people,' said working group chairwoman Margarita Caca Nikolovska after the meeting.

The second change, she added, is in the part of the diaspora and the Amendment 34 that is replaced by Article 49 and Amendment 2. It now adds after the Bosniak people 'Bulgarian people, Croatian people, Montenegrin people, Slovenian people, Jewish people, Egyptian (Ashkali) people.'