President Ivanov keeps Macedonia blocked

The cabinet's head of state gives no details as to when the wall is expected its decision on the law passed in the Assembly last Wednesday. In all of the pronitions so far, Ivanov has rejected the deal, calling it unconstitutional and harmful to national and state interests.

But, Assembly head Talat Xhaferi still hopes Ivanov will reflect positively and that he will place his signature on the law, which, under power, unblocks the Euro-integration process. According to Xhaferi, by solving this problem, the region would take a major step toward stabilisation.

“Sic you know, the law to ratify the agreement with Greece has been passed in Parliament. I expect that all state institutions, namely the president of the state, will respect the Constitution and parliamentary democracy. And if this agreement is to be implemented or not, citizens will decide by way of the referendum, while we as responsible politicians do have to respect that will”, said Talat Xhaferi, Parliament Speaker.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Radmila Sugarinska says institutions should respect the agreements, as they are important for the development and stability of not only relevant states but also the region.

Sugarinska said the deal would be worthless unless they are respected by local institutions, alluding to the blockade President Ivanov is making.

After many years of deadlock and trouble, Macedonia and Greece managed to find solutions to the problem after almost three decades. This historic agreement was reached six months after the deal with Bulgaria. These are two agreements showing that things are radically changing in Macedonia, but that they are invalid while local institutions show no political will and result in the share of the necessary” reforms, said Radmila Sugarinska, defence minister.

The agreements with Greece and Bulgaria were positively assessed by other representatives participating in the annual meeting in Skopje by representatives of the commissions for Defence and Security from the Southeast European Parliaments.