The constitutional changes in North Macedonia, which are a condition for the opening of the negotiation chapters for EU membership, will take place in parallel with the screening process, or the harmonization of local laws with those of the EU.

This is what the Government of North Macedonia says, commenting on the opposition's demands for the initiation of procedures for amending the Constitution.

Loud in this request is the Macedonian opposition party, OBRM-PDUKM, which expresses its conviction that the parliamentary majority does not have two-thirds of the votes for changing the highest legal act.

The changes to the Constitution, by which the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia would be recognized as a state-forming people, are part of the document known as the "French proposal".

This proposal has paved the way for the formal start of membership negotiations between North Macedonia and the EU, in July.

However, it has been opposed by the Macedonian opposition, which has said it undermines the Macedonian state, and has sparked protests and tensions.

The Government in Skopje does not give an exact date when the process for amending the Constitution can start, but they remind that the screening process must be completed by November of the following year.

Sonja Llukarevska, vice-president of the ruling party – Social-Democratic League (LSDM) – says she expects the parliamentary majority to have enough votes for constitutional changes.

"I consider that in this parliamentary majority there are many progressive forces that want to move forward, so I am optimistic that the constitutional amendments can be passed.

I expect that everyone who thinks about the European perspective of our country, who thinks the good of this country, would vote for the constitutional changes", says Llukarevska.

OBRM-PDUKM has said that if the Government is convinced that it has the numbers in the Assembly, it should take the initiative for constitutional changes.

"... if they do not pass, then the Government must accept the proposal [of the opposition] for early parliamentary elections, because the Government is delegitimized and, in no way, this coalition of SDSM and the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) can remains in power", declared the vice president of OBRM-PDUKM, Aleksandar Nikollovski.

The Albanian parties have not commented on the controversies between the Macedonian parties, but in the pronouncements so far - both those in power and those in the opposition - they have said that they support the constitutional changes, "to pave the way for the European perspective of North Macedonia". .

Constitutional amendments are approved by two-thirds of the votes, or by the votes of 80 of the 120 deputies of the Assembly of North Macedonia.

With the votes of the Albanian opposition deputies, the number of supporters of the constitutional changes reaches 74, which means that the majority needs 6 more votes of the OBRM-PDUKM deputies.

Aleksandar Kërzhallovski, an expert on political issues, says that the government is not interested in initiating constitutional changes at this stage.

"As for the government... in any case, it does not suit them to have early elections, due to the growing dissatisfaction with the severe [economic] crisis that has engulfed the country.

To this, when the previous dissatisfactions [with the French proposal] are added, then the result would not be in favor of the current government", says Kërzhallovski.

In a statement last week, the president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, said that "it is very difficult to achieve a two-thirds majority for constitutional changes in this parliamentary composition"./REL/