The recent decision by Macedonia’s government to take Greece to the International Court of Justice over Athens’ blockade on Skopje’s NATO membership is a legitimate move but it will not solve the name issue and subsequently it will not get Macedonia into NATO and the European Union, Branko Crvenkovski said.
The unresolved row in April caused Athens to practically block Macedonia from entering NATO.
“There will be no substantial United Nations talks with Greece on the name row in a foreseeable future” because the battle will be concentrated on winning the court case, the President said.
He argued that if Macedonia stays out of NATO and EU for a longer period this could harm the fragile inter-ethnic relations between Macedonians and the ethnic Albanian minority and would prevent much desired foreign investments from coming.
“We should try to resolve the name dispute but at the same time to protect our national identity and the language,” Crvenkovski said.
Macedonia missed its chance to progress towards the EU for the third year in a row in 2008 because the government led by the centre-right VMRO DPMNE party wanted to push on with early elections thus spending valuable time needed for crucial reforms, he claimed.
The violence which occurred on election day additionally complicated things for the country, he argued.
The European Commission this autumn for the third time in a row did not recommend a starting date for the country’s EU accession talks saying more reforms are needed.
Crvenkovski blamed the government for waging a populist policy and criticised the projected budget for 2009 which he claimed is oversized and focused too much on spending.
The government argues that the record amount set for infrastructure projects would steer the industry that otherwise suffers from lower demand abroad due to the global crisis.
Regarding the recent recognition of Kosovo, Crvenkovski said that Macedonia simply recognised the new reality in the Balkans and urged the Foreign Ministry to hurry in sending a new ambassador to Belgrade in order to normalise the relationship with Serbia.
Serbia initially expelled Macedonia’s ambassador but later sent signals that it wants the normalisation of relations.
This is Crvenkovski’s third address in parliament this year.
The first was in April when despite his calls against, the parliament majority decided to disband and go on to early elections. The second was in November when the legislators discussed the state strategy in the “name” row with neighbouring Greece.
In his last annual address as president before the March presidential elections he wished his luck to the next president-elect.
