Skopje, 22 November 2022 (MIA) – The Former President of the European Parliament and current Chair of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Martin Schulz, said Tuesday that the government and the opposition should take the country's greater interest into account in order to overcome the obstacles on the path to EU membership, and that the parties should find a balance between their national responsibility and the tactical moves in their domestic political struggle. My impression, said Schulz in Skopje, is that the opposition is playing a tactical game in order to create difficulties for the government. “It is not up to me to comment on the internal issues of the country. I will give an example. The main opposition party in the country is part of the European People’s Party (EPP). The EPP, however, shares your government’s position that the constitutional amendments are necessary for progress towards the EU,” said Schulz, in answer to a journalist’s question at the opening of the second Socio-Ecological Forum organized in Skopje by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Olof Palme International Center and Progress – Institute for Social Democracy. Schulz noted that trust and reliability are the most important aspects of international policy, adding that, according to him, the EU has made a mistake. “Before the Prespa Agreement, the EU member states made a promise to the country. Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras invested their entire political weight into the agreement. I considered this to be a historic moment for the entire region. And I believed, like everyone else, that the EU negotiations could begin at that point. Then followed the French veto because of their domestic reasons. That was not fair nor was it just, and of course because of such actions you lose trust. Then Bulgaria followed. That is why it is counterproductive for the governments and the opposition to use such issues for political points,” said Schulz. Because of that, said Schulz, I understand when you say that the citizens are losing their trust, but I believe that things can change for the better. Former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, in answer to a journalist’s question in Skopje, said that the most important thing on the path to EU membership is to implement the necessary reforms, even if this is especially difficult, because sometimes big changes are necessary. “We are talking about the constitutional amendments, which I believe are important right now. I believe that the current Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and former Minister Radmila Shekerinska have done a lot to take the country where it is now and I honestly hope that the opposition will be constructive, and will not make the path to EU membership more difficult,” said Linde. She stated that there are no shortcuts, stressing that the country must carry out painful and difficult changes in order to become an EU member, but that it is worth it. ad/ba/