EPIs comment on the upcoming referendum
This week, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia await the referendum for the toughest questions since our independence. The referendum issue binds the acceptance of the Prespa Agreement with further progress in EU integrations. Through this, we get the opportunity to return on the EU path.
As every other compromise, this agreement is not perfect, but it is non the less the best opportunity that we have. Macedonians will keep their identity; whose confirmation depends mostly on Macedonians themselves – by building a democratic society, the freedom of culture, creation and expression.
The way in which the Prespa Agreement came – with its own initiative, capacity and will – the Republic of Macedonia confirmed its state – hood capacity, which in the past was proved by the gaining of the independence and solving the national crises in a peaceful way. With the agreement, a new opportunity arises: to build relationships with our neighbors, looking towards the future.
The Macedonian society will have open doors to the Community of values, in which if the voice of the small is important. Our country, with the Stabilization and Association Agreement, in 2001, began with the adaptation of our legislation and politics with those of the EU. As a result, from the adjustment process, among other things, we got easier access to our products on the European market and successfully met the requirements for visa free travel in the EU in 2009.
The Macedonian economy will have open door the common European market. The adaptation of specific EU policies and acts implies certain benefits, but also costs for the society, especially for the affected subjects, as well as adjustment of institutions. It is necessary that in this process, a realistic perception of consequences that the introduction of EU policies and norms will cause be done, and also to foresee measures to minimize costs.
Even though in social development and transformation there are no guarantees and easy predictable trajectories, there are lectures from the previous enlargement of the EU from which we can learn and base our expectations on the accession and membership process in the EU. The EU integration in the case of the Eastern enlargement proved to be a model that, despite the governmental critics, justified the assessment as the (most) successful EU policy. Countries that joined the EU in the years 2004/2007 already have experience in the membership. Although there is no uniformity between them, and not all develop in the same way or equally, the accession process has proven to be successful anchor that promoted domestic transformation in all countries.
There is no doubt that today, as in the past, the Union faces challenges in various forms and no one can guarantee the development of the latter. However, the accession process is a successful mechanism that will promote our political, economic and social transformation, which of course is the responsibility of domestic stakeholders. In that context, the implementation of the Prespa Agreement is an exceptional, but also necessary condition, without which we will not be able to use the benefits of the accession process and membership.
It all depends from us on whether we will finally and decisively take the road, how will we shape it, because history will not end with the EU and NATO membership. The road will cost us, the membership will cost us, but the benefits that we will get, if contribute to that, are enormous.
