Skopje, 4 May 2023 (MIA) - The European Commission screening is developing well, the negotiating framework is implemented as planned and the completion of the constitutional changes will mark the opening of the first chapter, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani on Thursday.

FM Osmani, who held an online briefing from New York where he is set to address the United Nations Security Council on the OSCE Chairmanship priorities, said meetings in Brussels over the past week focused on the next steps and domestic dynamics regarding North Macedonia's tasks in the process.

"The scenario is set in line with the negotiating framework but the devil is in the details. We want to have in mind the observations of all members, of Bulgaria, and the dynamics of the constitutional changes so that we consider all combinations. The negotiating framework is implemented as planned and the completion of the constitutional changes will mark the opening of the first chapter," said Osmani.

Asked if there is communication with MPs and when is the parliamentary procedure expected to start, the FM said the working group on formulating the constitutional amendments has already started its activities, expecting the process to be straightforward, "because how and where the required intervention is to be made is already defined in the protocol".

"I believe the public debate should start once the amendments are formulated. They should be adopted by the Government followed by a public discussion including journalists and experts, since we have been debating more about assumptions and conspiracies rather than the real formulation, namely the text that will be incorporated in the Constitution. I think that as soon as we return from Washington, the commission will have already produced certain formulation and that is when the formal public debate begins," said Osmani.

According to him, this will be the most essential part of the debate, because citizens will realize, once they read the amendments, that everything else that had been said until then was part of a partisan-political propaganda, an attempt to instill fear among citizens, to polarize the society, to hunt for political points by using that fear.

"The most crucial part in the process will be the presentation of the truth before citizens. The truth will be on display once citizens read the formulations and all propaganda topples as a house of cards, and people will see there is nothing controversial in the process. I believe this will be the turning point in the public discourse that will then impose a fresh dynamics in politics as well, both among lawmakers and political parties. When citizens see the formulations, I expect a different discussion regarding the process. However, if the opposition continues to make partisan calculations at the expense of the country and its people, then they will be the ones to answer questions before the citizens," noted Osmani.

He added that discussions with MPs are currently informal but will be formalized right after the amendments are unveiled, both individually and on a party level.

"I expect to see events in the Parliament, the Government, by media and the civil society, which will debate on the pros and cons and I see nothing controversial in MPs being part of that debate. Nevertheless, lawmakers should not deliver speeches compiled by the party, each and every lawmaker has his/her own position. If they say they are against, then they should say why and provide an alternative. Such a debate is very important, where all societal stakeholders will present their positions," said Osmani.