Skopje, 27 May 2026 (MIA) - Citizens are the ones deciding about their own destiny. We do not want to pay this price. Schedule a referendum, ask the citizens. You are not the ones who get to decide about the fate of everyone living in this country, said SDSM leader Venko Filipche on Wednesday.

Filipche was responding to the statement of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, who told yesterday's joint press conference with Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković, "if bilateral issues are truly what should determine our European path, then we will fight in a different way."

"Hristijan Mickoski cannot decide about our destinies. Enough is enough. Citizens must decide about this, because these citizens, their families and their children will pay the price of Mickoski's erroneous policies. The citizens are the ones who decide about their own destiny. Schedule a referendum, ask the citizens. You are not the ones who get to decide about the fate of everyone living in this country," Filipche told a press conference.

Regarding the PM's statement there would be no more concessions on the EU path, the SDSM leader asked what those concessions are and who are the ones paying the price.

"We heard about the concessions, and what they said until now was a big lie. They used a false campaign saying they would restore the old name, cancel the Prespa Agreement, that the language and the identity are in jeopardy and so on. Nothing of this is true. And about the ones who will pay the price, this will not be Mickoski and his associates, because they all have Bulgarian passports in their pockets. The citizens, all of us will pay that price, our families, our children," said Filipche.

On Mickoski's call for national unity, Filipche wants the PM to clarify what unification means to him, while adding that the opposition sees the unification in passing the constitutional changes and sharing the responsibility.

According to Filipche, the situation on the Euro-integration front is disastrous, considering the progress that other countries are making.

"Enlargement is again high on EU's agenda, new members will be admitted after 15-16 years, and we are about to miss this. What are we doing here? The authorities should schedule a referendum and tell the citizens their stance. I agree that we should discuss the wording of the referendum question, but responsibility lies with the authorities. They promised we would join the EU under more favorable conditions, or 'prouder,' as they said. They lied, as is the case about everything. Citizens should be the ones deciding through a referendum," noted Filipche.

Photo: SDSM