Northern Macedonia Assembly Votes French Proposal

The North Macedonia Assembly on Saturday has approved the French proposal for resolving disputes with Bulgaria, which will pave the way for the European integration process.

The proposal was approved by 68 votes per, no against and no contained. Opposition MPs did not participate in the voting process.

MPs voted for seven conclusions drafted by the Social Democratic League parliamentary group (LSDM), which concerns guarantees for Macedonian language and identity.

“The Parliament tasks Government through delegations in the talks to adhere to the determination for unconditional respect of the Macedonian people's language, identity and culture as elements not negotiated with the EU. In the framework of the Macedonian language talks to be without clarification, without addition and without inserting”, it is said, among other things, in the proposal of conclusions that were introduced by the LSDM Parliamentary Group.

The vote comes after three days in the Northern Macedonia Assembly has been debated on this proposal.

The debate coincided with objections and even attempts at physical confrontation.

Throughout the debate, opposition party deputies V MRO- The DPMNE, through trumpet whistles, prevented MPs from holding their speeches.

The French proposal envisions overcoming differences between Skopje and Sofia regarding the Macedonian language, identity and historical past, while the Bulgarian side seeks from the Macedonian side to include the Bulgarian minority in the pre-mix of the Constitution as equal to other peoples.

Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, in his speech to MPs, which was followed by whistles from the opposition, said the Government is located “stands on the road to protecting Macedonian language, identity, historical and cultural features of the Macedonian people through its equality with European nations”.

But the deputies of VMRO- The DPMNE continues on charges against the Government for “national treachery” after, according to them, the French “proposal destroys Macedonian language and national identity”.

Opposition MPs have not even been convinced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's statement, which in the address to MPs Thursday, said the proposal guarantees the Macedonian language and that no one should be concerned about his identity.

Disagreements on these issues have caused Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union, to block the launch of northern Macedonia's EU membership negotiations for more than two years.