Almost all media reported inaccurate information that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on 19th and 20th of March was in Brussels. Even META . Photos of the visit were published and taken from the website of the Government of Macedonia.
However, not Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, but the leader of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Gruevski was in Brussels.
Five days government spokesman Aleksandar Gjorgjiev does not answer the question in what capacity Nikola Gruevski was in Brussels last week, nor from whose budget was the trip and accommodation at the summit of the European People’s Party (EPP) in Brussels paid. None of the representatives of the ruling party who we asked who paid for the stay and the trip – whether the state or VMRO-DPMNE – answered to this.
We are calling the government spokesman since Friday, and yesterday we even sent several text messages, but we didn’t receive an answer to the question “In what capacity was Gruevski in Brussels and whether the government or the parent party VMRO-DPMNE covered the costs?”.
If he was as a Prime Minister, then the plane, hotel and logs should be borne by the Government, i.e. the public account. If, however, he was there as a leader of the party, then it should go to the party account.
There must be banking transactions for all payments.
Macedonian journalists who were interested in the possible meeting between Gruevski and Merkel in Brussels and contacted the German embassy, where they received a lesson on “separation of state and party,” and were forwarded to contact her party – NDC – for the meeting of Merkel as head of the party.
Then for “Vest“, Beate Projshov, spokesman for CDU from the Berlin headquarters of the Christian Democrats emphasized that “Merkel, as President of the German Christian Democrats, respects the rule not to mix activities imposed by functions CDU leader and chancellor and head of the German federal government.”
European people’s parties currently have 11 representatives from 28 members of the European Council. In the European people’s parties, 53 have full membership, four parties including VMRO-DPMNE, are associate members, while 20 have observer status.
Gruevski in Brussels spoke to the head of the largest European People’s Party Joseph Daul, to whom he explained the importance of continuing the reform process in Macedonia. Daul meeting expressed willingness to personally engage for the support and assistance of the Republic of Macedonia in progress in its European integration.
