Skopje, 1 September 2023 (MIA) - The opposition has to stop looking for excuses to wait longer, we need to move forward quickly and become a member of the European Union by 2030, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs Bojan Marichikj said in an interview with TV21 on Friday.

"The opposition has to stop looking for excuses to wait longer for us to receive a better proposal or for Bulgaria to do something they have not done in 20 years. We should not be bound by the decisions of others. We do not need that. We need to move forward as fast as possible, in 2030 we want to be standing next to the other countries who will join the EU," Marichikj said.

According to the Deputy PM "the opposition wants us to just wait", and doing that will empty the country of young people and destroy all hopes for EU.

Marichikj noted that the country has so far gotten crushed by waiting and even became a NATO member 10 years later than expected, and lost the chance to join the EU alongside Croatia.

"Croatia has been an EU member for 10 years now, young people from our country now go there for work. We do not want to be crushed again. We are trying to explain to VMRO-DPMNE that their political positions have present and future consequences. We have learned enough these past 30 years to know what we should, and should not do," Marichikj stressed.

The Deputy PM asked how they will manage to explain to young people that if North Macedonia fails to join the EU in 2030, and the rest of the countries do, it will be due to VMRO-DPMNE's political impulses not to include several communities into the preamble. "The opposition cannot become a party of isolation," he added.

"We are currently facing an internal blockade. If by now we had external blockades that were not appropriate to our country, now we have one from within. No political party in the country can allow itself to be a party of isolationism, as opposed to a political party who wants to integrate the country, like the one I belong to. I believe that there is enough time for them to reconsider and for the first time in the history of the country support the decision for integration. I believe that they should think hard and support the European integration process," Marichikj explained.

The Deputy PM also commented on Trajko Veljanoski's letter published on Friday.

"The rules are clear. I do not want to discredit anyone, however, Trajko Veljanoski is the one who often broke parliamentary rules, it is also known that for six months he did not allow a new parliamentary majority to form, his term was full of such incidents. I do not think that he is the right man to give opinions on the Rules of Procedure or define what they are," Marichikj added. ssh/ad

Photo: MIA Archive