Skopje, 9 May 2023 (MIA) - The working group on the constitutional amendments is expected to adopt Rules of Procedure and guidelines for its work on the constitutional amendments at its first working meeting on Tuesday.

The working group held a constitutive session on April 26, whereat members of the group unanimously elected Margarita Caca Nikolovska, former judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, as President of the group, and Bajram Pollozhani, former judge at the Constitutional Court and constitutional law professor, as Vice President of the group.

The working group consists of 23 members, ten of which are participating as experts, ten were proposed by the political parties and three of them are representatives of institutions – the President’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretariat for European Affairs. 

The opposition refused to nominate its representatives for the working group. Despite appeals to join the group, VMRO-DPMNE holds on to the position that it will not support the constitutional amendments.

The Government is the petitioner of the constitutional changes, and it instructed the Ministry of Justice to establish a working body. The working group is charged with drafting the initiative over the need for constitutional changes. Once drafted, the initiative will be delivered to the Government, which will then submit it to Parliament. The initiative will have to pass through all parliamentary bodies. A two-third majority is required to adopt the constitutional amendments.

The inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution is a condition for continuing negotiations with the EU and holding the second intergovernmental conference.