Skopje, 5 February 2024 (MIA) – The Law on Restrictive Measures will be discussed at a government session on Tuesday, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani in an interview Monday for TV 24.

“It will be discussed by the Government tomorrow, I will put it forward, and whether it will pass in Parliament… I would love to see who would block it. There was a debate over why it was withdrawn, whether this was done for political reasons or not. There was a new Government, the new Government should defend the Law in Parliament,” Osmani said.

Regarding the criticism of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, the last of which was directed by Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan Kop, Osmani assessed that sometimes the lines between the judiciary and the Government are misinterpreted, so, he said, the criticism of the judiciary is interpreted as a weakness of the Government.

“We either want an independent judiciary or not. If we want an independent judiciary, then the conflicts and issues within the judiciary, shouldn’t be transferred to us, since we shouldn’t meddle. We have one difference with the Dutch Ambassador. I say, let us open Chapters 23 and 24 on the rule of law. We can’t reform ourselves. While he says we can’t open the chapters, but you should continue pushing for a European judiciary. This isn’t possible, if it was, we wouldn’t have made so many compromises to open the European path…,” said Osmani.

Osmani added that European law is the “peak of human civilization”.

“Historically and geographically, there is no civilization that has reached such a level. And we strive towards that as well, otherwise we can implement our Balkan rule of law by ourselves, and we already have it. In Bulgaria, there are currently constitutional amendments in order to introduce a Judicial Council and Council of Public Prosecutors. We have had a Judicial Council for a long time. It doesn’t mean that we are so bad. But this is without the European Union. If you want European law, open the chapters,” said Osmani.

At a government session on January 16, the Government unanimously decided to propose a motion on amendments to the Law on Restrictive Measures in Parliament, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a public discussion in January over amendments to the Law on Restrictive Measures which would include the U.S. blacklist as grounds for sanctioning individuals and businesses.

Photo: MIA Archive