Skopje, 26 March 2026 (MIA) - Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi said the issue of introducing the "constitutional appeal" and possible amendments to the Constitution is a purely political issue that requires a consensus by a two thirds of the MPs. 

He told Thursday's press briefing he does not support a partial opening of the highest legal act.

"This is a sensitive issue. As soon as the Constitution is opened, everyone wants to achieve their political goal. That can lead to creating more problems than benefits.The Constitution should not be opened ad hoc. If we want a deeper reform, it should not be opened partially, but through a broader political and social debate. A two-thirds majority is required in Parliament to open the Constitution. I would not comment on it now, I would leave it to the political parties to make a decision on when it is necessary to do so," Gashi pointed out. 

As regards discussions over implementing the Badinter rule within the Constitutional Court, he said the issue should be considered from both a political and an expert perspective, with a focus on the fundamental role of the Court.

"Asregards the implementation of Badinter in the Constitutional Court, I can say that it should not be a taboo. It should be discussed, but from two aspects in my opinion - from the aspect of the political dimension and the professional aspect. We should take into account the fact that the Constitutional Court should play its role as prescribed in the Constitution, which is to defend the Constitution and constitutionality when passing laws in the country. Therefore, we should not have prejudice towards topics that lead to quality decision-making. First of all, we should keep in mind what kind of Constitutional Court we want - one that will be in the best possible situation to decide on the protection of the Constitution and the constitutionality of laws in the country," said Gashi. 

Speaker Gashi noted that the Parliament is moving ahead with the reform agenda as swiftly as possible and so far there has been no delay in voting on the bills arriving in the archive. According to him, the speed of the process depends on the capacities of the ministries and the communication with the European Commission.

"The process is more complex because the ministries draft the laws, send them to the EC for suggestions, and then incorporate the remarks before they reach us. As soon as they are forwarded to Parliament, we resolve them very efficiently. Currently, we have two bills in the Parliament – ​​one for public prosecutors, the other for the Council of Public Prosecutors. We expect more bills to come from the Government soon, because I know intensive work is under way there with an increased focus on this issue. We expect greater efficiency during this year in terms of passing the laws from the reform agend," Gashi said.

Expressing his personal views as part of the coalition, and not as the Parliament Speaker, he stressed that executive reshuffles will be subject to review after a process of internal consolidation of the coalition is completed.

"The Vlen coalition is in the final phase of establishing a political party. As soon as this process is finalized, the party bodies will decide on their representatives in the executive and all other branches of government. At this point, we should not prejudge whether someone is acceptable or not," Gashi said in response to a reporter's question on the status of ministers Arben Fetai and Fatmir Limani.

On whether the Parliament is discussing new parliamentary groups or new political movements, Gashi pointed out that he has not been informed of such a thing.

"When any MP or parliamentary group declares differently, they inform the Parliament Speaker, and then I inform all MPs and the public. So, the moment I am informed, the public will also be informed about any changes in the parliamentary groups," said Gashi.  

He announced that one member of the Judicial Council has been withdrawn because the commission concluded that he does not meet the requirements, which is why a new call will be announced. Also, on April 8, MPs are expected to decide on the new vice governors, while the proposal for a new constitutional judge has not yet arrived.

Photo: MIA