Skopje, 18 December 2023 (MIA) – Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani believes that by not adopting the necessary constitutional changes, the country risks repeating the mistake of Bucharest in 2008, this time with a standstill on EU integration path.

"In an interview with daily Sloboden Pechat this morning, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani discussed and welcomed the European Union's geopolitical decision to open accession talks with Ukraine. He emphasized that the citizens of North Macedonia are not concerned about the Union's positive decision on Ukraine but rather about the politicians who, by not approving the necessary constitutional changes, risk a repetition of the mistake made in Bucharest in 2008," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

Minister Osmani stressed that extended standstill on EU integration path could impact key citizen issues - standard of living, employment, health, and education.

“Smart people learn from others' mistakes, while the foolish ones from their own. We find ourselves in a situation where we do not learn even from our own mistakes. We are allowing dark forces once again - nationalist ones - to hijack our future for personal agendas. I am confident that we will find a solution later because the times are not the same as Bucharest 2008, but theoretically, the risk is that we might lose another decade,” Osmani noted, urging the opposition parties not to remain indifferent in these critical times for the future of the country, but to think about the next generations instead of the next elections.

Photo: MIA archive