European Parliament Support for Macedonia Accession Talks

MEPs, who adopted the resolution on the 2010 progress report on Macedonia on Thursday, expressed regret that “the Council has not taken a decision on the opening of accession negotiations as recommended by the Commission for a second year in a row”.

The parliament pushed for a resolution of the Greek-Macedonian name dispute that has been blocking this move.

MEPs also addressed recent developments in the country, noting that they were “concerned by the current political situation, including the boycott of the national parliament by the opposition parties, and by the risk that these developments could adversely affect the country’s EU agenda".

While encouraging the opposition to end the boycott, the resolution called on the government to ensure conditions for constructive political dialogue, and asked all parties to work towards easing ethnic tension.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democrats quit parliament in late January, accusing the government of quashing democratic freedoms, hampering economic recovery and deliberately keeping the country at arm's length from the EU and NATO. The opposition and ruling parties recently agreed to hold early elections, scheduled for June 5, and parliament is expected to be dissolved shortly.

In the resolution on Thursday, MEPs noted the “politicisation of the media and interference in their work” in Macedonia, and are "concerned at a considerable deterioration in media freedom in the country, as shown by the significant drop (from 34th to 68th position) in the Reporters Without Borders’ 2010 press ranking".

The Parliament also asks Macedonia to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and the resolution expresses “regret that, contrary to European legislation, sexual orientation has been omitted from the [anti-discrimination] law as a ground for discrimination.”

Macedonia has been an EU candidate country since 2005, and the European Commission recommended the start of its accession talks in 2009 and again in 2010.

However, EU ministers cannot extend a date for the talks to begin due to Skopje's unresolved name dispute with Greece.

Greece claims that Macedonia’s official name implies territorial claims over its own northern province, also called Macedonia.