Zaev: The Government may collapse If there is no date for accession talks with the EU this summer

Any possible delay of the decision for a date for start of negotiations by the EU could put the government at risk and put nationalist forces in power again, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

He was speaking Wednesday in Brussels to a selected group of foreign journalists as regards the voting in Germany’s Bundestag, which largely impacts the setting of a date for EU negotiations.

The Bundestag should green lit any decision involving the EU’s enlargement. After Berlin approves a decision on June 28, the EU ministers could agree on a final date by mid-July at a summit in Brussels.

Any possible delay puts the government at risk, according to Zaev.

“The German Bundestag must send a message – if no decision is made this week, most likely there will be a decision by late June. If there’s nothing by the end of the month, we’ll have to wait for the Council of the EU in October, which means the Bundestag will vote in September. There’s a risk that we could lose our majority in Parliament, because definitively we’ve done everything we could,” the PM said.

This year’s European Commission report ‘is the best the country has ever had,’ according to him. “Everyone agrees the country should start negotiations. My government has made vital efforts and took a major political risk in the process implemented for the Prespa Agreement to be adopted, which required a 2/3 majority. Hence the risk, namely the MPs who were promised that their vote in favor of the Prespa Agreement and the constitutional changes would open the doors of the EU, might lose any trust they have in the government.”

Even if Zaev manages to restore his mandate, it’s almost certain that snap elections should be called. The whole process threatens to increase political instability, putting at risk the implementation of European reforms. Asked by AFP’s correspondent if there’s a risk of pro-Russian and nationalist parties coming in power, Zaev said it wouldn’t be ruled out if the EU failed to deliver.

“No decision [for date] will greatly disappoint our citizens and nationalist forces see hope in their disappointment, because there will be voters, who could support nationalist and radical forces. This is no good for North Macedonia, it’s no good for the region, as well,” PM Zaev stated, adding: The country has done everything it was asked to do and we’ve been waiting for the doors to open for 15 years.

The upcoming EU ministerial meetings involve three scenarios – opening of negotiations with both North Macedonia and Albania, the best case scenario; no decision for start of talks, the worst case scenario; and opening of negotiations with North Macedonia first, and with Albania at a later date, Zaev said.

According to the PM, the Netherlands and France are more skeptical regarding the opening of talks with Albania, whereas Germany is concerned that leaving Albania without a date could increase instability in the region, especially in Kosovo, and reignite speculation about land swap.

“The reshuffle process is under way, less than two-thirds of the government will be changed and I also plan to dismiss people from 20-30 managerial posts in some of the largest state institutions. But, there again, perhaps I might be replaced by the Council of the EU,” PM Zaev noted.

He said he had put the government reshuffle on hold because of the risk that the government might fall if the EU didn’t reach a decision regarding a date.