A plenary session of the European Parliament, on which MEPs debated the current political crisis in Macedonia and recent developments in Kumanovo, was held in Strasbourg late this afternoon.
The general assessment of MEPs was that the country is in a difficult political situation, called for responsibility from leaders of political parties in the country for the challenges the country is facing, but from the European Union as well.
In his opening address, Commissioner of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Christos Stylianides noted that “the citizens of this country deserve more than a political statement” and urged leaders in the country to “seriously take their responsibility and to put the country’s interests above the interests of their parties.”
– At the same time, the EU calls on the authorities in an independent and transparent manner, to investigate all allegations of possible abuses, including those of publicly published wiretapped conversations – said Stylianides.
MEP Eduard Kukan called on the European Union to pay more attention to Macedonia due to the challenges it is facing and that would be shocking to any European country.
– Macedonia is facing a political crisis and security challenges and political responsibility should come from all political and ethnic lines – Kukan said, adding that European integration is one of the tools that can help overcome the crisis.
In his address, rapporteur Richard Howitt pointed out that he several times warned that the failure to start accession talks leads to a risk of a new conflict.
– Europe may not directly responsible for what happened in Kumanovo, but as we expect the political parties in the country to act responsibly, they expect the same from us – emphasized Howitt.
He and member of the Greens Ulrike Luchanek directed sharp messages to the European People’s Party (EPP), which member is VMRO-DPMNE as well, because of their criticism of the Macedonian opposition and support for Gruevski.
