The decision taken by the EU Council to start accession talks with FYROM in June 2019 has sparked debates in Skopje.

The leader of the opposition, Hristijan Mickoski said that the country did not benefit what PM Zoran Zaev said that it would benefit from the agreement regarding the name.

“Zoran Zaev proved that whatever he says is a lie. This is a catastrophe for the citizens of the Republic of ‘Macedonia’. Not only did he sell the interests of the country, but now we’re not seeing the benefits that he promised”, Mickoski said in a televised interview.

The speaker of parliament, Talat Xhaferi said that the time remaining until the talks start could be used to deliver what that the European Commission requires the country to deliver. According to him, this delay does not have a negative impact on the country’s integration process. He added that he’s optimistic that the country will receive an invitation for NATO accession in the summit that the alliance will hold on 11 and 12 June of this year.

Former Foreign minister Antonio Milososki said that the fact that the accession talks will start in a year’s time is a great loss for Zaev’s and Dimitrov’s diplomacy. According to him, France, Holland and Denmark did not offer their consent for the talks to start this year.

Source: balkaneu