Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn called Thursday on Macedonia's old-new Government, led by the VMRO-DPMNE/DUI coalition, to implement the European Commission recommended urgent reform priorities and provide appropriate conditions for functioning of the Special Prosecutor's Office, MIA correspondent reports from Brussels.
It is very important for the European Union to have a stable neighborhood, which means grater support for the Western Balkan to join the Union, Hahn said at a briefing with correspondents from several countries of the region.
Referring to the situation in Macedonia, Hahn said the country's performance was essential for the EU. The 2015 June/July agreement addresses set of issues and implementing of reforms in all notified spheres is important for Brussels, he said.
"This old-new Government is obliged to work on these priorities. We hope that all political parties will take part in the Parliament work and discuss. This is important for us it is the Przino Agreement's result. It is also important to have a Special Prosecutor's Office that will deal with the wiretapping scandal,' Hahn said.
He also supports a proposal the ruling VMRO-DPMNE presented to opposition SDSM for setting an interim government 100 days before elections.
"The Government offers a possibility to the opposition to ask for snap elections whenever it wants. I personally mediated the Przino Agreement, when a lot had been achieved, except for the elections. After such a long period of instability I still believe that the elections are sound, last cornerstone...For us, in terms of the country's performance, it is important how it deals with the rule of law and the implementation of the urgent reform priorities. It is vital for our assessment on the country's progress in the next months," Hahn said.
All parties should be aware that the country's EuroAtlantic prospect is at stake, and at the moment they bear the responsibility to deliver, Hahn said. In this respect, he unveiled his proposal for some sort of international monitoring over the preparation of the voters list.
"What we have seen in Macedonia is an endless discussion on the quality of the voters list. There is ODIHR and others who offer assessment of the elections' conduct, but they present reports after the election process. In order to avoid the entire discussion before the elections, I believe it is necessary for an international institution, acceptable for all parties, to be tasked with checking up the voters list, enabling for undisputed elections to be conducted," Hahn said.
The initiative, he said is in an early stage and will be a subject of future discussion with the partners.
"I believe that we do need an institution that will deal with this matter. At the moment there is no responsibility for the quality of the voters list, as for me none of the institutions in the country is capable to do so. We need something and that is what I will initiate," Hahn said.
Commissioner Hahn underscored that the activities undertaken by the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) in Macedonia were of high importance. He criticized the decision made by the President Gjorge Ivanov in April to pardon over 50 individuals involved in last year’s wiretapping scandal. Moreover, the EU official questioned the credibility of the Macedonian President.
The SPO, he added, should be allowed to work independently by all political parties. Even though it isn’t part of the Przino Agreement, Ivanov’s pardoning decision is related to the SPO’s role, Hahn stated. “Once the Constitutional Court had upheld the legitimacy of this law, the international community exerted pressure on Ivanov telling him not to use this opportunity. However, a couple of weeks later, he had pardoned over 50 people and this move failed to contribute to his credibility,” the Commissioner told the briefing saying the pardoning of individuals in Macedonia was ‘unsustainable’ for the EU.
Hahn vowed the EU would monitor the work of the Special Public Prosecutor's Office ‘how it is coping and whether it manages to work independently.’ According to him, threats are an unacceptable means for Brussels. “For the EU it is crucial the law on pardoning to be clarified since it hinders the SPO in its investigative activities.”
Recently, the President Gjorge Ivanov has said he would reach the same pardoning decision if need be.
Asked whether it would be possible for the Special Public Prosecutor's Office to continue to work in such circumstances and whether the Union would take any actions, Hahn said the EU would draw conclusions unless things were not in line with its understanding of rule of law and the Przino Agreement.
“The June/July agreement contains an item stipulating the establishment of the SPO to investigate crimes related to the wiretapping scandal. This means the SPO has to be enabled to work,” Hahn said noting that the pardoning decision was not only counterproductive, but it also violated the spirit of the June/July agreement.
According to him, the Przino Agreement was still laying a solid foundation to find a way out of the political crisis in Macedonia.
“At the moment, it is fine the way it is,” Hahn said when asked to comment the restoration of the precrisis government structure in the country. “I have to say I agree with exPM Gruevski, who now is only a party leader. He promised me people who have been pardoned will not be appointed government members, which according to him it is a move toward reducing tensions. But we have to see how all of this will be handled.”
“We also want to see how the EC’s urgent reform priorities are going to be implemented. It is a comprehensive list of all the elements and measures that need to be taken in order progress to be made on the road to Europe”, Commissioner Hahn said adding the forthcoming progress report would depend on their implementation.
Asked whether the oldnew government, helmed by VMRODPMNE and DUI, could implement the country’s reform agenda, Hahn said the EU at the moment wanted to see results.
“The two party leaders, (Nikola) Gruevski and (Zoran) Zaev are in touch, they talk to each other, which is good. We only want to see clear results, namely implementation of the Przino Agreement, implementation of the urgent reform priorities and the SPO to make sure it does its job well,” the Enlargement Commissioner told the briefing.
For the EU, he added, it is unacceptable elections to be organized if the SPO is prevent from doing its job.
Referring to the Macedonia - Greece name row, Commissioner Hahn said initial steps were being made by the countries to build confidence. “In the past few days it has been confirmed that the two sides are fostering solid cooperation on security matters related to the influx of migrants. The confidence building measures give hope for future development of any events. In any case, we are far from reaching an agreement. Skopje needs to do its homework first. Afterwards, we have to find a way to focus on the name issue that not only involves Greece, but it also involves Bulgaria. It’s too early to say that there are improvements, but some steps have been made and it is crucial the two countries to start working together in some areas at an official level,” the EU Commissioner concluded.