The right to self-determination, the right to choose the language you speak, is an inalienable right of every nation. It belongs to the people who live here, and not to any other state or international organization. Defending our language is not only to safeguard the Macedonian identity but also the European identity and the values the EU should stand for, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov said in his address to the Prespa Forum Dialogue panel titled “The Road to EU: What to Expect When You’re Expecting” held in Ohrid earlier today.
Addressing panel participants, Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov said North Macedonia succeeded in resolving the long-standing name dispute with Greece precisely because Greece recognized and accepted the right of citizens to self-determination. But now the country on its road to its European integration is facing a problem “of a technical nature,” he said.
“The EU is not only an economic giant, but a leading example in the narrative of values,” Dimitrov said.
“Through the Lisbon Treaty, the member-states of the Union have committed themselves to protecting and nurturing the linguistic and cultural diversity of the continent, so it is not the European way for us to now be facing an obstacle that has so far been treated as a matter of technical nature,” he said.
Dimitrov pointed out that it was common sense for this part of Europe to belong in the EU, because it already belongs geographically, economically, historically, and politically.
“The refugee crisis and the emergence of the so-called Balkan route was a clear example of the region being an integral part of European security and the EU,” Dimitrov said.
“The biggest problem the EU has with the region today is people of the Western Balkans losing trust and confidence in the declarations and decisions made by European leaders.
“This region is in the EU’s back yard, and not at its outskirts, which gives additional weight to the problem facing the Union,” he said, adding that the failure to resolve it in the long run would weaken European values in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov will speak at the official opening of the Prespa Dialogue Forum in the afternoon and at the July 2 plenary session within the Ohrid conference.
