Macedonians' Relief Over EU Report Riles Opposition

Opposition Social Democrats are dismayed after an opinion poll published on Monday showed 46.4 per cent of Macedonians believe the European Commission report assessed their country in a positive light.

About half that number, 28.4 per cent, of respondents to the survey, conducted by a local think tank, the Institute for Political Research, said the report published earlier this month was generally negative about the country. A similar number, 25.4 per cent, had no answer.

"We should talk about the negative facts and how to make them better, not about ... the virtual reality that the government is trying to impose," the party told Balkan Insight in a written statement.

The party said the fact that Macedonia had still not started accession talks suggested that the right-of-centre VMRO-DPMNE government under Nikola Gruevski had not made any real progress towards EU membership.

Although the new Commission report retained last year’s recommendation for a start to EU accession talks, it repeated complaints made in previous reports about the judiciary, the public administration and free speech.

The Commission said Macedonia needed to solve its "name" dispute with Greece as soon as possible, if it wished Greece to lift its blockade on Macedonia's EU accession talks. Greece objects to the use of the name "Macedonia", saying it implies territorial pretensions to the northern Greek province of the same name.

Macedonia has insisted that the report was positive overall, thanks to their work, adding that any criticisms contained in it were a minor issue that will be addressed. “In all 35 chapters we have seen progress", government spokesman Martin Martinovski told Balkan Insight.

However, the EU ambassador to Macedonia, Erwan Fouere, has urged the government not to take the report lightly, noting that it contained more criticisms of the pace of reform than last year’s report.

"The EC reports have passed the test of objectivity and it is very rare for a country to question its content," Fouere told students in Skopje on Monday. “This is not a textbook or exam. It is a guideline that should help the government," he added.