“The future of Macedonia is in NATO and the EU, and this is not just my opinion, but also of the European institutions, as well as of all the 28 member countries, and I would like to see Macedonia, on my side of the European Council, very soon, because stability, peace, prosperity and democracy in the Western Balkans are important. But it has to be clear that without the agreement on the name dispute, I see there is no chance for you to join NATO and EU”, said German Minister of State for Europe at the Federal Foreign Office, Michael Roth, yestrday at the panel discussion “Youth perspectives for Macedonia’s EU integration”, organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation – Skopje Office and CIVIL – Center for Freedom and the German Embassy in Skopje.
At the very beginning of the event, the President of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, Xhabir Deralla, welcomed everyone present expressing his support to the progressive youth, which is the future of this country.
“I thank the youth for teaching us all a lesson in democracy and for starting the democratic changes and the progress in the country. The youth will overcome the mistakes of the previous generations of politicians”, said Deralla handing the microphone to the speakers.
“We have to fulfill our promises and Macedonia has to fulfill its promises. That is not only an obligation of the Government, but of all political actors, to take responsibility for the entire country! Politics are not a game!
That is why, you, the youth are so important! Because you will build the future of your country. We need you. That is why I encourage you to stand and fight for your rights, to raise your voice. I am here to listen to you and will sincerely value your ideas and your creativity…” said, among else, Minister Roth in his speech. He then spoke about the joint obligations on Macedonia’s path to the European Union, emphasizing their commitment.
In the context of the brain drain, Roth said that it is something that is good for the Union, but not for Macedonia.
“The European Union is more than a monetary union. I know that it is difficult to fulfill all the conditions, and the young people are impatient and do not want to wait, but the more engaged you continue with the reforms, the easier it is to join the EU.
Roth emphasized that the European concept of society is open to various cultures and religions and ethnic entities, outlining the Roma and LGBTI community as the most vulnerable in all the EU member countries.
“That was a huge challenge also for my country, to accept all minorities on all grounds, to accept all the differences”, highlighted Roth.
“You must realize that no one wants to erase your cultural identity. I am concerned about the growing nationalism among the young population. This is an experience we also have in Germany. That is why we need to stand united”, said Roth. Head of the Macedonian diplomacy, Nikola Dimitrov outlined that Macedonia lost one generation in waiting, and when it comes to patriotism, he says that it is a continuous commitment, and not empty and selfish nationalism.
“It takes courage and responsibility to face the obstacles and to turn them into an opportunity that will free the potentials of the youth in society. The easiest thing for any minister in Macedonia is to put the problems under the rug in regards to the name issue with Greece. Ee can complain on how unfair the world is, but we have to face reality and the problems, and to come to solutions with self-confidence”, said Dimitrov.
He emphasized that we live in a region that is still facing issues and insecurity, and that is why, he says, it is very important for the future of Macedonia for the country to join NATO, so that we do not ask ourselves anymore what kind of problems and worries we will have five or ten years from now.
“It is very important to get on this train, because Europe is going through its own transition. We do not have time to waste, we do not know whether the next train will come, and that is why we cannot miss this one. Certainly, flowers will not be blooming at first, it will take hard work, tears, but the best chance for our country to become a European democracy with good education, responsible politicians, with free media, with independent judges, is for us to get on this train. This is the essence of the reforms for European integrations. This is the last chance for my generation to offer a decent start for the next one, and we will do so, because it is greater than the politics today. We have a chance, our, my job as a foreign minister, is to embarrass each one of the 28 EU member countries until next June, if they do not give support for the start of the membership negotiations with Macedonia”, said Dimitrov.
“After 11 years of a delicate situation, we are finally back on the path towards the EU. I expect that we will develop a serious network with municipalities from the EU. I expect that the young people will have the chance to feel the benefits, the opportunities to start a business at the local level, and to stay here..”, said the youngest mayor and President of SDSM youth, Stefan Bogoev.
According to Bogoev, the biggest thing that needs to be changed is the attitude and mentality of the Macedonian people.
“This change should have started yesterday, it is not late to start today, but it is late to leave it for tomorrow. The atmosphere in the country will free the youth from the nationalism and society’s reticence. We must not forget that precisely the youth made serious changes in Macedonia. As a youth, we want to go forward towards NATO and EU! The agreement with Greece gives us hope that the young people can remain in their own country – Macedonia, and start a business here, and not just leave abroad…Every one of us needs to take responsibility!”, stressed Bogoev.
Blazen Maleski from the National Youth Council of Macedonia pointed out that when it comes to youth participation in politics, it is necessary to restore the trust and to demystify the public policies, because the young people need to participate in the decision-making, talk about their problems and work on solving them.
“This is something we need to work on very fast, because the referendum is in September, October, and we need to press on convincing the people that changes really are possible, but also that they will not happen overnight, and will not happen if people stay home. They have to go out and fight for their rights”, says Maleski.
Irena Ivanovska from the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia said that having in consideration the economic and social situation of the country, the youth in Macedonia do not have the opportunities as the young people of the same age do in the EU.
“There is a large number of young people who do not have access to education. Nearly half of the unemployed are young people. The youth encounter a problem when they enter the labor market with lower salaries…We hope for quicker access to education for a decent job with decent salaries. We hope for easier cooperation with youth organizations from Europe and exchange of experience”, said Ivanovska.
Journalist and activist Ognen Janeski spoke about his experiences in the past period, especially in regards to the youth, minorities and discrimination.
“These are very challenging times, especially for the minorities in Macedonia. In the past two years, when it comes to inclusion and interethnic relations in Macedonia, especially in the education, the result, according to all projects on integration, is that there is– greater segregation.
We live in a society where the young people do not talk to each other if they are from different ethnic group. This is a problem that we have to solve if we want the country to join the EU, the same is true for the rights of the LGBTI community.
The biggest problem is the apathy of the youth in the country. They are not interested in politics, because they think it is connected to the political parties, and not with what is happening to us every day.
Apathy is a horrible thing in this country. The young people here just want to leave the country. They don’t even wait to finish their studies, but want to study abroad. That is something we need to work on and focus our perspectives. We have to teach them how to recognize discrimination. because everything that has been done in the past years has been done for the older people, and not the youth, and they feel discriminated”, said Janevska in her address. Albert Hani from the Regional Youth Cooperation Office said that he is happy things are starting to move in a good direction.
“Especially the struggle with the political parties that want to turn us back. Macedonia has to free itself from ‘nationalism’! The youth are suffering from violent conflicts because of it…
We have to provide the youth with an opportunity for movement and space, for them to want to stay here. We remain committed to the energy of the youth and will support them in every sense”, said Albert Hani from RYCO.
“The struggle still continues. One of the main tasks of the Government will be to bring back the young professionals in their own country in order for them to contribute to the EU accession and to transform Macedonia into a modern state. To fight for their own country. We will provide them that opportunity…This will be a long road!”, said Bojan Maricic, Advisor for foreign policy in the Government.
He referred to Britain and Brexit as an example, and on what awaits Macedonia in the upcoming period. “In London 80% of the youth are for Britain to stay in the EU. But with the older, it is the opposite. This generation gap is a problem for Great Britain…”, said Maricic.
“Here, the youth not only need to vote at the referendum, but they also need to address the older people and convince them that this is a struggle for their future. That the older citizens also need to fight for the future of their children.
There is not a more important issue than the one that is to be solved this autumn. It is not easy, but it is necessary!”, he added.
Professor Ana Cupeska spoke about the challenges lying ahead of us and on what we need to be focused on in the forthcoming period.
“There are four main goals before us: reforms in the public administration, fight against corruption, reforms in the intelligence services and the rule of law. All of this is related to the referendum, but the most important thing is to cut the link with the authoritarian governments.
I am optimistic about the development and capacity that we have for implementing the reforms. Because we have shown until know to have that capacity. The youth here have a very important role! I would suggest they remain active. I would like to encourage them to raise questions not only about their problems, but also about other problems, such as corruption in education, for example…”, said Cupeska. According to Dimitar Nizamovski from the Youth Educational Forum the main challenges in the area of the youth in Macedonia are the reforms in the education system, the high level of corruption in education and the law on primary, secondary and higher education.
“Student participation is necessary, while students should be active citizens in all sectors in society. European values should be incorporated in the education…
Discrimination, unfortunately, is great, especially towards people with different abilities and marginalized groups”, said Dimitar Nizamovski from the Youth Educational Forum.
Maja Ivanovska
Photo: Biljana Jordanovska
