Skopje, Macedonia | Tirana Echo -The President of the European Council Donald Tusk has failed to produce a solution to Macedonia’s political crisis, after it warned its leaders the small Balkan country is risking its EU and NATO integration.
Tusk twitted today that “Europe needs a stable FYROM guided by the rule of law. The country’s Euro-Atlantic future is at risk,”
Tusk met with Macedonia’s President Gjorge Ivanov today in Skopje but failed to persuade him to step back and allow the formation of a governing coalition between social-democratic SDSM leader Zoran Zaev and several Albanian minority political parties. Opposition leader Zaev send the country to a spiral of political crisis after linking then PM Gruevski and his close allies to a wire-tapping scandal.
EU’s Tusk said he came to Macedonia with a strong message from the EU leaders and institutions: “The European Union’s commitment to your European perspective is unequivocal. Working towards EU and NATO memberships has consistently proved a factor of unity. Unity that is so needed in your country today. I therefore hope that you will continue to follow this internal compass and avoid anything that could further fuel tensions, also along ethnic lines”.
The European Union and the USA are concerned about the small Balkan country’s stability as the deepening political crisis may develop into an inter ethnic conflict between Macedonia’s Slavs and its 30% ALbanian minority, who’se platform with Zaev is being refused by Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE party which has received the support of a majority of its Slav speaking population.
“This protracted crisis is holding your country back from your Euro-Atlantic path. It is for you to find a solution based on democratic principles, decency and common sense. Only such a solution can be a lasting one. When you find it, you can count on our support”, – said a visibly troubled Tusk today in Skopje to President Ivanov.
However, as was the case with EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini and its Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn earlier this year, Ivanov remained unmoved and said his position “remains unchanged” insisting he did not grant a governing mandate to Zaev as a preventive measure for his country’s stability, which he claims would be endangered by Zaev’s so called ‘Albanian Platform’ which would make Albanina the second official language across Macedonia.
“My decision is preventive and serves to prevent any detrimental consequences that we might encounter,” Ivanov said after meeting with Tusk.
Macedonia has been in a deadlock for months and the formation of a new government seems difficult as VMRO DPMNE is blocking the appointment of the Parliament’s Speaker, who woul dunblock the current stalemate created by President Ivanov.
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