FYROM NEWS: Howitt Alarmed by F.Y.R.O.M.'s EU Prospects

Thursday, May 23, 2013

FYROM NEWS: Howitt Alarmed by F.Y.R.O.M.'s EU Prospects

FYROM's progress towards Europe is in jeopardy, the European Parliament rapporteur warned, blaming both local politicians and the European Council for failing to deliver.

Speaking in Strasbourg at the European Parliament’s annual debate on FYROM's progress towards EU accession, MEP Richard Howitt on Wednesday said the country was straying from its EU path, partly thanks to repeated rejections from Brussels.

“Accession negotiations should start without further delay”, said Howitt, elaborating on a resolution on the country that he compiled.

Howit urged FYROM's politicians to hurry up with forming a commission of inquiry into the events in parliament on December 24, which triggered a political crisis.
He also urged them to sign a memorandum of understanding on the country’s EU perspective and improve dialogue with journalists.

The three points were agreed as part of an EU-brokered deal struck on March 1 that ended a months-long political crisis.

“We cannot want your country to join the European Union more than you do yourselves,” Howit told FYROM's representatives at the debate, adding that “future progress towards Europe is jeopardised” and that “the democratic credibility of the country is questioned”.

But Howitt said that the European Council, set to reach the final decision on accession talks next month, should not be exempt from responsibility for what is happening.

“Looking at the last year, does the European Council accept its own responsibilities resulting from delays and rejection?” he asked.

European Commission reports have recommended a start to FYROM's membership talks each year since 2009.

But FYROM has never been offered a date for talks owing to a Greek "blockade" related to the dispute over its name. Greece insists that FYROM’s name implies territorial claims to its own northern province, called Macedonia.

“Do you understand that when you are in a queue and find yourself continually pushed past, getting further and further from the front, at some point you walk away from the queue altogether?” he continued.

“Have you really considered what will happen if this country slides back towards conflict and fragmentation? Are you using the challenges of the country as a convenient excuse?” Howitt asked the council.

Last autumn, Bulgaria joined Greece in blocking Skopje’s accession bid, alleging discrimination and hate speech towards Bulgarians inside and outside FYROM.

As a result, last December the EU Council said that any decision on opening accession talks with FYROM would be based on a special European Commission report, which was published in April.

The report noted progress in almost all EU-related areas, stating that FYROM had improved relations with Greece and Bulgaria and that its EU reforms were largely “back on track” after the country resolved a crisis triggered by a dispute in parliament on December 24.

“Indeed by the end of this year, I cannot predict whether this will be a country where EU accession negotiations have begun or one which may have lost its candidate status altogether,” Howitt said.

Sinisa Jakov-Marusic Balkan Insight (23/5/13)

*(After the necessary corrections with the name "FYROM".

GREECE recognised this country with the name "FYROM")