North Macedonia’s PM Zaev to postpone resignation ahead of crucial EU summit in December

North Macedonia’s PM Zaev to postpone resignation ahead of crucial EU summit in December
By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje November 10, 2021

North Macedonia’s ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) announced on November 9 that its leader and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will postpone his resignation until the stabilisation of the political crisis amid serious challenges related to the EU integration process.

Bulgaria vetoed the start of EU accession talks with Skopje at the end of last year, but there are hopes that the process might be unblocked at the next EU summit in December.

Zaev announced his resignation as prime minister and party leader on October 31 after the second round of the local elections, when candidates from opposition VMRO-DPMNE won most of the mayoral positions, including in Skopje. However, Zaev has not yet filed his official resignation to the parliament.

SDSM central committee head Pero Kostadinov said that taking into account the developments in the country and the period which is crucial for the EU integration process, the committee unanimously decided Zaev to postpone his resignation indefinitely until these processes are normalised. 

“The general decision is that the momentum that North Macedonia is faced with is very important and we should all be up to the task because the price is high,” Kostadinov said.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia’s opposition parties led by conservative VMRO-DPMNE filed a no-confidence motion against the government led by Zaev and the session has been scheduled for November 11.

The SDSM suffered a huge election defeat, winning only 18 mayor positions out of the total of 81 in the recent local elections, whose second round was held on October 31.

News provider Fokus, citing SDSM sources, reported on November 10 that many influential international leaders had contacted Zaev to persuade him not to step down, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to a senior SDSM official, they assured Zaev that there is a good chance that the country will finally start negotiations with the EU in December, even though local analysts and the opposition and some within the government are skeptical of such an outcome.

Regardless of the outcome, Zaev plans to resign from the post of prime minister at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, while, according to SDSM sources, the party’s central committee should start a procedure for electing a new leader at its next meeting, Fokus reported.

 

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