The biggest danger to the European dream is losing connection between citizens and their governments, says Director of the European Initiative for Open Society Jordi Vaquer, who today spoke on topic “Where is Europe headed” in the GEM club.
In addition to the crisis in Ukraine and the political situation in Greece, he also discussed about the current situation in Macedonia, which he feels is a kind of a phenomenon.
According to Vaquer, in order to change something, it won’t take years, it can happen very quickly. He said that Macedonia is in an interesting period due to the increase engagement of the citizens in the political processes.
– This is my fifth or sixth visit to Macedonia. Every time I come, the situation is more and more depressive in many fields and it is getting worse. I see things that I do not like, the name dispute has become difficult and blocks the other processes. This time I leave inspired, because what is happening, and I’m not only talking about student demonstrations, is a kind of a phenomenon. In the last three visits I heard that no one reacts, that the opposition does nothing, the Government makes mistakes and that things are moving in a negative direction. Now I have a sense of change. I am not here to judge the Government or of what is happening. But I’m interested in the engagement of citizens and civic involvement that may or may not lead to a change of Government. I, however, am inspired by the involvement of citizens, which is really important. I think it’s inspiring when people are more active and take matters into their own hands, even if they fail. I think that Macedonia is currently in an interesting time, not because of political scandals, but because of the feeling that people became engaged – said Vaquer.
