Macedonia is a country in deep trouble.
Under a veneer of normality lies a climate of
deep mistrust between all the political
parties and between the main ethnic
communities. Several incidents of
inter-ethnic violence took place in the capital
city earlier this year and are on the increase.
Political dialogue, insofar as it exists
between the parties, remains
confrontational.
These tensions are compounded by a climate
of fear in the population at large, generated
by the all-pervasive control of the main
governing party, which has been in power
since July 2006. This control covers not only
the main state organs such as the judiciary
and public administration, but also the
electoral process and, above all, the media.
Criticism of the government is not tolerated;
those who dare to raise their voices are
branded 'enemies of the state'. This includes
civil society organisations, which have
played an important role in monitoring the
government's performance in implementing
much needed reforms.
Meanwhile, although the European
Commission has recommended (since 2009)
that a date be set for the start of accession
negotiations, the country's efforts to join the
EU (and NATO) remain blocked.
Greece has prevented the required
consensus in the EU Council because it
refuses to recognise the constitutional name
of Macedonia.
This situation raises questions about
Greece's commitment to stability in the
Balkan region, ten years after the
Thessaloniki EU-Western Balkan Summit,
which marked a turning point in confirming
the EU accession perspective for the
countries of the region.
The delay has been grist to the mill of the
government's ethno-nationalist and populist
agenda, and has provided a convenient
pretext for it to pursue a number of policies
that are at variance with the country's
objective of EU accession. They have also
fostered a divisive atmosphere within
society at large - unprecedented in the
country's history.
Yet the objective of EU (and NATO)
accession is, nonetheless, the one element
that keeps the country united. The only way
to ensure that the country does not sink into
further instability is for the accession
negotiations to start without further delay.
This should be conditional on the
establishment of an all-inclusive negotiating
process involving the government, civil
society, academia, the business community
and the media.