Brussels, 13/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 January, the European Parliament mediators on the implementation of the June-July political agreement - Richard Howitt (S&D, UK), Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia) and Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia) - called on all parties in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for swift implementation of all the aspects of the agreement that are still outstanding.
“We strongly urged all political party representatives to spare no time and effort in implementing the agreement and the urgent reforms”, the three MEPs stated in a joint press release after visiting Skopje on 11 and 12 January. While there they met the leaders of the four main political parties. “We underlined that this is a political priority, which is still required to move the country beyond the recent political crises”, they added, stating that it was crucial for the parties to focus fully on the remaining steps in implementing the agreement. The MEPs also encouraged all the parties to act swiftly in order to prepare the voter register, with an agreed methodology for a credible level of field checks, and to take steps in enhancing media freedom.
Underlining the importance of the elections on 26 April for making progress on the political agreement and for the country's future democratic development, the MEPs stated that the European Parliament should be present at the elections.
Concerned about the delays and some retrograde steps in relation to urgent reform priorities, Kukan, Howitt and Vajgl underlined the need for all the parties to engage in the working group that is convened by the European mediator on a continuous basis, including during the election period. “Taking these measures and fully implementing the agreement (and making substantial progress in implementing the urgent reform priorities) is the way to meet the democratic aspirations of its citizens as well as for maintaining a positive recommendation to open [EU] accession negotiations”, they added. The three MEPs also underlined their support for special prosecutor, Katica Janeva.
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Skopje on Friday 15 January - the day the government should be replaced by an interim government, 100 days from the elections. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)