Skopje, 4 September 2022 (MIA) – The Parliament cannot be entirely blocked. VMRO-DPMNE can block only committees it chairs and the institution will continue to operate on agenda items for which there are prerequisites, says Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi. “The decision to block is the right of the opposition, an instrument it can use for discussions in working bodies and plenary sittings. Nevertheless, the Parliament cannot be entirely blocked, since they might not discuss on agenda items at the committees they chair but the ones tackled by other committees and at plenary sessions can be debated, in line with the Rules of Procedures,” says Speaker Xhaferi in an interview with Radio Free Europe. On the constitutional changes, the Speaker says this is not an obligation of the majority or the Parliament but a commitment that the state has undertaken on its path towards opening the EU accession negotiations and NATO membership. “Therefore, the need for constitutional changes is one of the state, in order to move forward on the path it chose three decades ago. In this context, I believe everyone should consider the interest of the state and the citizens, and not the interest of political parties and daily politics, since whoever takes power will have to move along the same path,” notes Xhaferi. On the possibility of some VMRO-DPMNE MPs voting for the constitutional revision, he expects political parties to reflect the interest of citizens they represent. “In this context, I expect this to happen,” underlines Speaker Xhaferi.