VP/HR — Deterioration of the situation in Macedonia
2.6.2015
Question for written answer P-008953-15
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Ilhan Kyuchyuk (ALDE)
In recent months the political crisis in Macedonia has deepened and the country is now dangerously divided. Macedonia has been weakened by interminable wiretapping scandals, by a legitimacy gap internally and a virtual absence of legitimacy in the eyes of the outside world, and by the undemocratic functioning of the state institutions. All this has led to a series of anti-Government protests.
Moreover, the Government operation in Kumanovo demonstrated that the political crisis could very quickly turn into an ethnic one, and reminded us, crucially, that the transition from totalitarianism to democratic societies in the Balkans has been marked by bloody ethnic conflicts, driven by nationalistic ideology, which for many years supplanted civic struggles.
There is no guarantee that the current unstable situation will not spill out of control and take a dangerous turn with repercussions not only for Macedonia itself but also for the Balkan region and all the countries of the European Union.
— What measures does the European External Action Service consider necessary to steer Macedonia onto the path of integration with the Euro-Atlantic community?
— What measures does the EEAS intend to take to safeguard peace between the various ethnicities in Macedonia?
— What measures will the EEAS take to ensure that the investigation into the allegations of unlawful wire-tapping is subject to impartial international monitoring?