Leaders of Macedonian parties reach agreement

Leaders of Macedonian parties reach agreement

"I can tell you that we have reached an agreement which was signed by the leaders of the four largest parties, and I am satisfied with what has been achieved," Hahn told reporters after talks with leaders of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Gruevski, SDSM Zoran Zaev, DUI Ali Ahmeti, and DPA Menduh Thaci.

Hahn stressed that they agreed on early elections and that the focus will be on further implementation of a report on other recommendations of the European Commission.

Shortly after the meeting Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the leader of the opposition SDSM expressed their views on to the agreement, saying:

"The political crisis in Macedonia is resolved, the European perspective of the Republic of Macedonia will remain open, and the economy is liberated from the chains imposed by the political crisis and will continue to grow, which means new jobs and new investment."

He thanked everyone who helped throughout the process, particularly the representatives of the EU and the U.S., three MEPs and especially Commissioner Hahn.

Prime Minister Gruevski explained that in accordance with the agreement, as a system solution starting now and applying to all future parliamentary elections, 100 days before each parliamentary election the government will withdraw, and a new one formed in charge of carrying out the election.

Gruevski explained that in this case it means that the VMRO-DPMNE will propose the interim prime minister for a period of 100 days, starting from January 15, 2016 until elections on April 24.

"So that no one would have an alibi and excuses for election results, we have agreed that starting from October 20 until elections the SDSM will, with prior consultation with the VMRO-DPMNE and DUI, propose the technical minister of the interior, which means a person who is in no way affiliated with any political party," he added.

According to the agreement, the SDSM will also propose to the minister of labor and social policy. The ministries of finance, agriculture, forestry, water management and information society will get "deputy ministers with the right of veto."

Zoran Zaev expressed his satisfaction with the agreement and said that it confirmed everything his party and coalition partners were saying in their project "Truth for Macedonia".

It is envisaged that the special prosecutor will be elected on September 15 who will be in charge of an investigation "in relation to the contents, evidence and arguments from the eavesdropped telephone conversations."

"The new public prosecutor with completely autonomous powers will receive the material that should be process in a transparent way, in parallel with parliamentary committees, and the content will also be available to the public. Most important of all is that the facts and evidence will have legal consequences," said Zaev.

He added that the opposition will in early September return to the national assembly and actively participate in the implementation of all segments of the agreement.