Hailing the formation of a new government in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on 31 May 2017, the European Parliament immediately asked the new government to swiftly apply the necessary reforms for ensuring the country's Euro-Atlantic integration. The Parliament also asked the government to use its European outlook in the interest of citizens.
The report by Ivo Vajgl (ALDE, Slovenia) on the 2016 FYROM report, which has been adopted by the European Parliament (503 votes in favour, 113 against, and 46 abstentions) states that all the political parties should act in a spirit of reconciliation and cooperate with the government in order to re-establish trust in the country and its institutions – notably through full application of the June-July 2015 political agreement (the Pržino agreement) and the priority reforms to come into operation urgently.
All parties should show their political resolve and responsibility in order to overcome the conflictual political climate, the polarisation and lack of a culture of compromise, the MEPs state. All parties should also renew their dialogue, the MEPs say, underlining the primary role of the parliament in the country's democratic development and the parliament's privileged place for political dialogue and representation. The MEPs highlight the importance of progress in the reform of public administration, the fight against corruption and conflicts of interest. They deplore the constant turnarounds in the reform of the judiciary, which should be encouraged to exercise its duty independently. The MEPs also call for the Office of the Special Prosecutor to be fully supported.
The European Parliament reaffirms its support for the opening of accession negotiations, on condition that progress is made in applying the Pržino agreement, enabling its full, concrete and sustainable implementation, and on condition that significant progress is made in applying systemic priority reforms that should come into operation urgently. The MEPs call on the European Commission to assess, as soon as it can, the progress made by the country on implementing the political agreement. The MEPs also call on the Council to address the issue of accession negotiations as quickly as possible. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)