Another uncertain week of negotiating awaits Macedonia from tomorrow. Even though the whole process of negotiations, the most important things in Przino, were meant to be agreed by now, but the political parties have yet to reach an agreement.
The only matter agreed on, is the selection of the Special Public Prosecutor, Katica Janeva, and her budget until the end of this year.
There is no new official deadline, for the parties to reach an agreement, but unofficially, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE have time to come to an agreement until the November the 5th, the day unofficial should close the progress report on candidate countries for EU membership.
Negotiations remain blocked with Janeva’s Assistant Prosecutors or to be more exact, the Council of Public Prosecutors approved only seven of the requested 14 Assistant Prosecutors, which has made matters only worse.
The Special Public Prosecutor should begin to work from November the 2nd, but it is still uncertain whether this will happen, because she called on her chosen Assistants Prosecutors not to take the Oath of Office until their other seven colleagues are selected.
The money Janeva requested were approved by the Finance and Budget and Legislative Committee in an extremely fast procedure, but next week it is expected that the MP’s will vote about the money in the plenary session.
The biggest disagreement between VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM regarding the law on government or credentials and authority of Ministers and Deputy Ministers. SDSM considers that the Minister of the Interior shall have all powers, while VMRO-DPMNE believes that he should be only a technical person in the Ministry.
Last week, the International Community repeatedly stressed that VMRO-DPMNE were being non-constructive and called on party officials in negotiations to accept the obligations contained in the Przhino Agreement.
On Friday, the Macedonian Ambassador to Germany, Saso Markovski, was summoned to a meeting at the German Foreign Ministry. The competent diplomat for the Balkans, Ernst Rajhel personally told Markovski that VMRO-DPMNE must demonstrate the will to succeed in the negotiations.
Reactions to the behaviour of the ruling party in the negotiations were the ambassadors of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union, were not positive. On Wednesday in the Courtyard of the Government, read a joint statement in which they said they were disappointed because deadlines for the Przhino Agreement were not being respected or upheld.
