This government must be honest and tell citizens clearly whether it does or does not support EU integration. Then present its reasons and its future plans. The problem with Bulgaria is no longer an excuse, because Croatia had similar problems with Slovenia, Montenegro with Croatia, and Albania with Greece.
By Xhelal Neziri
Even without the blockade from Bulgaria, North Macedonia would not have opened the first cluster, “Fundamentals,” which opens first and closes last. This means that even if the constitutional amendments had been adopted and the ethnic Bulgarians included in the preamble – a key specific precondition for opening negotiations under the French Proposal (2022) – the country still would not have begun opening any clusters. The reason? Opening each cluster requires fulfilling several basic prerequisites.
NO REFORMS EVEN FOR A SINGLE CLUSTER
To open the first cluster, the country needed to adopt and implement two roadmaps and an Action Plan for Minority Protection. These specific documents aim to guide key reforms related to the EU’s core values and obligations, as the Fundamentals cluster covers judiciary reform, fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, as well as public procurement, financial control, and statistics chapters.
The first roadmap concerns strengthening judicial independence and integrity, and intensifying the fight against corruption. The second roadmap concerns public administration reform and the functioning of democratic institutions. The Action Plan for Minority Protection outlines concrete measures for safeguarding and promoting minority rights within North Macedonia.
North Macedonia drafted and adopted these EU-required documents, but the problem lies in a chronic defect of the political system – the lack of full implementation and absence of concrete results.
The latest progress report of the European Commission (EC), published in early November, revealed an important truth: the issue with Bulgaria is used merely as an excuse to avoid implementing reforms. The French Proposal, already part of the EU negotiation framework, is indeed a specific precondition for progress in the talks, but it is not an obstacle to fulfilling the reforms required in every progress report.
SKOPJE OR TIRANA – WHO IS CLOSER TO THE EU?
To understand how far behind North Macedonia is compared to Albania, one should not look only at the fact that Albania has opened all clusters, fulfilling all prerequisites. Look also at the EU funds Albania has drawn from the bloc’s new instrument, the Growth and Reform Plan. The government in Tirana received around €100 million, while Skopje received about €25 million.
This plan, promoted last May, aims to “reward” countries implementing reforms with financial incentives. While the approach resembles school teachers rewarding pupils for each completed task, it is highly effective given the political immaturity prevalent in the Western Balkans.
Therefore, statements from government figures or civil society experts opposed to the French Proposal – claiming North Macedonia is ahead of Albania – are unfounded and do not reflect reality. If Albania met the prerequisites for opening all six clusters in one year, North Macedonia met none. If Albania implemented reforms and received the full €100 million for a single year, North Macedonia received only a quarter of that.
Reform delays caused by parliamentary inefficiency, lack of progress in implementing OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission election recommendations, absence of reforms to strengthen local governance, and stagnation in judicial reforms… are only part of the criticism in the latest report.
Furthermore, the undermining of judicial independence due to political interference and parliamentary pressure, insufficient human resources in courts and prosecutor’s offices, widespread corruption (the report highlights the Kočani tragedy as an example exposing deeply rooted institutional corruption) reveal the grim reality in a country aspiring to join the European family, where justice is sacred.
The report also notes that public administration reforms lag behind deadlines, only one-third of reforms have secured budgets, and government transparency is lacking. The economy is also criticized, and violence and threats against journalists persist. According to the EU, there is no progress in environmental reforms, and there are no investigations into environmental crimes. Practically all sectors are deteriorated and require urgent intervention.
Because of these shortcomings, Skopje reacted with anger — as if these reforms were intended to improve the lives of EU citizens instead of its own people. While Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was celebrating in Brussels with a small cake for opening the final cluster, in Skopje a debate erupted over who is ahead in the process, as if this were the Tour de France. A pointless debate that reflects or projects a collective delusion the country entered long ago.
REFORMS ARE FOR THE CITIZENS, NOT FOR BRUSSELS
From the perspective of EU citizens, it is better that their taxpayers’ money is not spent stimulating reforms in states with politically immature elites. It is good that North Macedonia used only €25 million from the Growth and Reform Plan, and even lost around €160 million last year alone because it was unprepared to apply with quality projects. Billions more have been lost due to delays in opening clusters.
But from the perspective of the citizens of North Macedonia, this should be deeply concerning. It is not only about the lost funds, which are essential for implementing reforms, but about the long-overdue reform of a corrupt and inefficient system that in the past decade has driven more than 300,000 people to emigrate. In ten years, the population loss equals three cities the size of Prilep or Tetovo disappearing from the map.
This government must be honest and tell citizens clearly whether it does or does not support EU integration. Then present its reasons and its future plans. The problem with Bulgaria is no longer an excuse, because Croatia had similar problems with Slovenia, Montenegro with Croatia, and Albania with Greece. The question is whether you will use these problems as justification to avoid moving toward EU membership or approach them seriously in order to resolve them. The second path requires unwavering orientation and strong will from all political forces – Macedonian and Albanian, right-wing and left-wing, centrist and liberal.