Skopje: Anti-Discrimination Law 'Can Be Revised'

The DUI reaction came after the law that passed last week in the country's parliament sparked discontent from EU officials and human rights watchdogs, who said that provisions for better protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation should have been included.

“DUI is ready to once again open and change the anti-discrimination law,” party spokesperson Ermira Mehmeti told local media.

Mehmeti slammed its coalition partner, the main ruling centre-right VMRO DPMNE party, for being too rigid in backing the law and for endangering the country’s EU accession bid with some of its recent moves.

“It is apparent that we have a different approach towards the EU integration of the country,” Mehmeti said.

Mehmeti expressed discontent regarding the recent scandal in which Macedonian officials are suspected by the media of having hidden a letter sent by EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele to Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE head Nikola Gruevski.

The letter, sent just before the adoption of the controversial law, urged Gruevski to revise his position and include provisions barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Fuele confirmed earlier this week that he had sent the letter, and Skopje yesterday confirmed that it had indeed been received.

Mehmeti also noted that the DUI does not agree with how the vice prime minister in charge of EU affairs, Vasko Naumovski, recently restrained communication between his subordinates and the country’s EU embassy.

Local media recently reported that Naumovski sent a memo to his subordinates in the department ordering them to seek his approval for all communication that they have with the country’s EU representatives.

“We do not support a policy of hiding documents and unlike Vice PM Naumovski we are against restraining communication with colleagues from the EU. This represents an intrusion on the spirit of democracy. I do not wish to believe that hiding documents is a common practice rather than a technical oversight,” Mehmeti said.

In 2005 Macedonia was granted the status of EU candidate country but only last autumn did the European Commission decide to recommend the start of EU accession talks based on Skopje’s reforms progress.

However, Macedonia failed to start the talks due to a Greek blockade over its neighbour's official name. Athens refuses to let Macedonia inside the EU before the long lasting spat is resolved.