Brussels, 15/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 15 July, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and three MEPs called on the political leaders of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to implement the agreement “swiftly” that was reached the same day by the country's four political parties to overcome the crisis.
“Political leaders in the country must now swiftly implement the agreement in good faith”, said Hahn and the three MEPs - Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia), Richard Howitt (S&D, UK) and Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia) - in a press release. After several months of negotiations, “we welcome the political leaders' strong commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration and the European perspective”, Hahn and the three MEPs said.
Building on a pre-agreement made at the beginning of June (see EUROPE 11341 and 11333), the agreement of 15 July provides for: - the return of the SDSM party to the national parliament; - the organisation of parliamentary elections on 24 April 2016 by a transition government; - and the appointment of a prosecutor responsible for investigating the telephone tapping affair that has shaken the country. Hahn and the three MEPs underline the importance of following the European Commission's recommendations on the rule of law.
The government will be replaced “by a transition government 100 days from the elections, which will be responsible for organising the ballot” and appointed by the VMRO-DPMNE party, said VMRO-DPMNE Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, as reported by French news agency AFP. The left-wing opposition party (SDSM) accuses the government of corruption, whilst the government accuses its detractors of spying.
The progress made in implementing the 15 July agreement will be assessed in September as part of the next high level dialogue meeting on EU accession. (Mathieu Bion)