Skopje, 16 May 2025 (MIA) – In the European integration process, we mustn’t be collateral damage to the veto and the introducing of bilateral issues in the EU integration process, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said in a meeting with European Council President António Costa.

Emphasising that the country is focused on implementing the reform agenda so as to align with the European standards, Siljanovska – Davkova said the Copenhagen criteria are and should remain the sole conditions for joining the European Union, her office said Friday in a press release.

The Bulgarian-Macedonian misunderstandings and disputes can only be solved through good will, mutual understanding and respect, stressed Siljanovska – Davkova.

“Negotiations over history, culture and language are not in the spirit of international and European law, they deny the European values and principles, defined in the EU’s constitutive documents that guarantee national and cultural identity, as well as the integrity and dignity of the citizens,” said the President. 

Warning that the Macedonian precedent could trigger a domino effect to affect other countries in the region and beyond, which will put at risk the EU enlargement policy, she asked the European Council to propose a solution preventing new demands and conditions that may defocus our attention from reforms to identity issues. 

The figure of 36 constitutional amendments in 30 years, the President noted, with most of them initiated from abroad, is relativizing the significance of the Constitution, being the highest legal act, from one hand, and the broadest and most important treaty of the citizens, from another.

Siljanovska-Davkova also pinpointed the regular experience from every amendment to the Constitution – proposed amendments to be accompanied by new ones, whose adoption is conditioned to endorse the first ones.

Stressing that the integration of the Western Balkans is a clear priority for the EU, European Council President Costa said he has an understanding for the national sentiment and the situation the country is in all the while adding he doesn’t expect additional political conditioning on the Macedonian EU path. 

Saying he appreciates the efforts invested in the past two decades, Costa said he believes we should use the momentum of EU’s rising interest for enlargement in order to provide more security and safety in addition to making the region more European, said the press release. 

Photo: President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova