March 22 (SeeNews) - The European Union has urged Macedonian political leaders once again to respect the outcome of the December early elections and the democratic majority, and to form a government without delay.
"We thus call on a swift formation of a new government committed to implement overdue reforms," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn and MEPs Eduard Kukan, Knut Fleckenstein and Ivo Vajgl said in a joint statement after meeting with representatives of Macedonia's largest political parties in Skopje on Tuesday.
According to local media reports, the EU representatives were met by thousands of protesters opposing the Tirana platform which gives increased rights to Macedonia's ethnic Albanians and is perceived as a step towards federalisation of the country. The protesters called on Hahn to not interfere in Macedonia's internal affairs.
Ethnic Macedonians have been protesting in the streets since the end of February after president Gjorge Ivanov refused to offer to Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), to form a new government despite the proof of parliamentary majority which Zaev submitted to him.
Political tensions heightened in Macedonia after the president's refusal which Ivanov explained with concerns that SDSM's agreement with ethnic Albanian parties to form a coalition cabinet would jeopardize the country's sovereignty. The ethnic Albanian parties have conditioned their participation in a future government with SDSM to the acceptance of the so-called Tirana platform - a list of political demands they put forward following consultations with Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama.
In Skopje, the EU representatives repeated EU's call upon president Gjorge Ivanov to reconsider his decision to not give the mandate for forming the new government to Zaev, according to a statement published on the website of the European Commission.
"[...] we urge everyone to refrain from any actions and statements which might fuel inter-ethnic tensions or undermine good neighbourly relations," the EU representatives said, adding that negative rhetoric against international community and civil society organisations are counterproductive.
EU representatives expressed their concern about tensions and hate speech. "The freedom of assembly and the freedom of expression are fundamental rights in democratic societies, but they come with responsibilities," they said.
Conservative VMRO-DPMNE party won a narrow victory against SDSM in the December 11 snap vote and was the first to be offered to form a new government. However, it failed to agree with ethnic Albanian party DUI on forging a coalition, which opened the way for SDSM to be invited to form government.