On Sunday’s interview for Radio Free Europe, European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn summed up the visit to the country in the wake of the political crisis in his own way.
META tried to “translate” Hahn’s statements in an ordinary, non-political language in order to clear up what he said, and what he actually wanted to tell us?
REGARDING “PUCH” AND WIRETAPPING
He said: Those who have material should fully disclose them and all are well advised to leave the work of the procedure according to the rule of law. And deal with it in an adequate manner, as expected from a country with a European perspective. This is something very serious and, once again, my recommendation is that things need to be clarified and researched by those people who are legally responsible for such a procedure. But, if necessary, there also should be, as in many countries, according to political practice, a committee in the Assembly which will deal with this issue, but it depends on the presence of all political parties in the Assembly. This is another good reason and that’s why there is a lot of sense for all political parties to be part of the Assembly and the political dialogue to take place in the Assembly.
He wants to say:
SDSM should publically announce the materials, and I advised them to submit them to the prosecution. If necessary, an inquiry committee should be created in the Assembly, but SDSM should first return to it.
He said: I saw that there is an understanding that there must be a political solution.
He wants to say:
A settlement to be reached without litigation and police persecution.
He said: The reputation of the country is at stake.
He wants to say:
The crisis has dented your image in the EU.
He said: All confirmed that it will be useful to have a kind of external support in order to reach an agreement that is acceptable to all political parties. It is an exercise of democratic maturity.
He wants to say:
All agree that an external mediator is needed to negotiate a deal. This way you’ll show that you are democratically mature – this now only shows that you aren’t.
REGARDING THE NAME
He said: In our view, progress should be made without being too affected by bilateral conflicts. I do not think we need to waste time. We should see what can be done in the meantime for your country to move gradually towards the EU. We assist and provide a lot of money for the period from 2014 to 2020. About 660 million euros are to be used for capacity building of the administration, but also to invest in education, economic development, as well as dealing with issues related to the environment and waste management. There are many areas where we need to see progress.
He wants to say:
You do not need to spend a lot of time and energy on the name. You should try to get those 660 million that we are offering you to 2020.
REGARDING GRUEVSKI
He said: He is a man dedicated, especially to economic development, and is closely familiar with everything that is happening in the economy and the activities of the business sector and attracting foreign investment in the country.
He wants to say:
I spoke to him about the political crisis, he talked about economic development, business and foreign investment.
REGARDING MACEDONIA AND EU
He said: Take a look at the numbers, about 65 to 70 percent of all imports and exports come from or go to the 28 EU Member States. EU Member States are far mostly in foreign investment. It is clear that the orientation must be directed to the EU for further improvement of these figures in terms of the size of the adjustment to European standards. I do not see that there is an alternative to the European way, and it is also the opinion of both the Government and the society.
He wants to say:
There is no alternative to EU integration.
REGARDING PARALLEL NEGOTIATIONS ON NAME DISPUTE AND EU MEMBERSHIP
He said: I think that it should and has to be a way. As I already said, you do not need to waste time, because the process is concerned, not only to comply negotiations with the acquis communes (European legislation). When a certain process needs to start and be implemented, it that takes time and should therefore explore opportunities despite some bilateral conflicts and I hope we can take the time to a cautious and smart manner and then we can see which solutions the future offers. The name dispute is something that has bilateral implications. I think that the more important and more relevant is the development of the country, society, the economy, it is a matter of fight against corruption, transparency and independence of the judiciary, everything connected with the rule of law and economic performance. I think all together should be seen as a package. I think this is most important because it is a challenge that must be achieved and which is time-consuming. We have to be ambitious, but, on the other hand, patient enough to achieve these goals.
He wants to say:
Yes, yes, I already said it twice. No need to waste time. Everything else (the development of the country, society, the economy, the fight against corruption, transparency and independence of the judiciary, rule of law and the performance of the economy) is more important than the name dispute.
