Skopje, 29 December 2024 (MIA) - It is my personal opinion and impression from all my meetings until now that it is not good to insist only on one solution with Bulgaria. We should insist on defending our positions and elaborating them, because if we insist only on one, then we don't know where it could lead us, considering that the proposal on constitutional amendments with delayed effect was rejected by Bulgaria at the time when the French proposal was discussed, says Minister of European Affairs Orhan Murtezani in an interview with MIA.

"And secondly, member-states are not very open to supporting this proposal. Nevertheless, this is the first step that I am certain could lead us to a proposal that would be acceptable to both parties," says Murtezani.

According to him, the bilateralization of the EU accession negotiations process is not a problem only for candidate-states but is becoming a serious problem for the Union itself.

"Especially now that Croatia has said it would block the closure of some of Montenegro's accession chapters. There are similar announcements for other candidates, which shows that the bilateralization of the EU accession process is not damaging only for candidates but for the Union as well," says Murtezani.

He notes that member-states are aware of these problems and are "attentively listening to our arguments".

"The Prime Minister and I have tried on several occasions to explain that the obligation of implementing the constitutional amendments remains, there is political will and readiness for their adoption, but we must protect the process from further bilateralization, especially considering that the design of the accession process entails implementation of certain reforms and European standards," says Murtezani.

The Deputy PM adds the process has no sense if it is based on historical events from the 11th, 12th or 13th centuries.

"Therefore, if the process is set to make us a credible country to join the EU, the process must be focused on reforms and standards. Brussels has shown understanding, not only in our case but in broader terms as well. We hope for a stable political government in Bulgaria, so that we sit down and talk, because bilateral agreements create obligations for both sides, whereas the Friendship Treaty obligates Sofia to supports us, not block us," says Murtezani.

On the Reform Agenda related to the Western Balkans Growth Plan, which is set to result in the country receiving EUR 750 million in support, he says its implementation will go as planned.

"Four steps worth EUR 17 million have been anticipated in 2024. Two have already been implemented, one partially, whereas the last one is nearing completion. I think we will not have any major problems in the implementation aspect, since I have held coordination meetings with all ministers who are part of the Reform Agenda and we have a number of instruments aimed at supporting the respective ministries," says Murtezani.

The Deputy PM says the payment of the first tranche worth EUR 52.5 million includes two prerequisites - Parliament ratification of the agreement on the growth instrument and the loan agreement.

"The Parliament will ratify them shortly. Since this is a new set of reforms both for the Western Balkans and the European Commission, the initial ratification deadline has been moved to the end of February and reporting by mid-March. Subsequent payments will be carried out after six-month evaluations and reports," says Murtezani.

Regarding the latest designations on the United States' "blacklist", the Deputy PM says he is not surprised.

"It seems that only DUI acts surprised. It seems they have not gotten the message from the previous designation of (Struga Mayor) Ramiz Merko, which clearly showed that corruptive governance or use of authority and strategic partnerships for personal wealth is not the US or European standard. Nevertheless, I believe this was a surgical intervention and the new Government must absorb this message as well - the process of reforms and governance must be carried out in line with laws and in the citizens' benefit. All those who monopolized the Euro-Atlantic process are ending up on the US blacklists one by one," says Murtezani.

On DUI's accusations that the Worth It coalition is not doing enough for the rights of ethnic Albanians, the Deputy PM assesses that 200,000 ethnic Albanians left the country during DUI's 20-year reign.

"These are low blows aimed to manipulate the public so they protect themselves, because they see, and the public sees, that accountability is coming," says Murtezani.

On the strategic plans of the Ministry of European Affairs in 2025, he says the negotiating structure is being completed.

"This is a complex operation that requires between 1,000-1,200 experts from the administration and beyond. We have received five out of six screenings reports for the respective clusters, which include certain recommendations that this structure must implement, allocate tasks to institutions so that reforms are carried," says Murtezani.

He adds that intensive efforts are invested in enhancement of infrastructure and realization of IPA programmes.

"There is big room for increase of the absorption capacity, regular implementation of recommendations and obligations from the stabilization and association structure, which represents the foundation of the entire Euro-integration process and the Growth Plan. Then we will finalize the structure as a whole, since only a National Coordinator has been designated. We will need a complete system for implementation, monitoring and evaluation, in order to be certain that the reform agenda implementation is proceeding as planned, while having the possibility to intervene if certain problems come up in the meantime," underlines Deputy PM for European Affairs Orhan Murtezani in the interview with MIA.

Neda Dimova Prokikj

Photo: Darko Popov

Video and editing: Vladimir Rabasovikj

Translation: Ivan Kolekjevski