Andoni: The current Macedonian government wants to avoid the Open Balkan

The current government in North Macedonia wants to avoid the Open Balkan initiative, which it sees as being different from its political, economic, and social positions, political analyst Ben Andoni told Kosovo Online.

He points out that the latest statements coming from North Macedonia regarding the revision of the Open Balkan follow Rama’s statements that the “Open Balkan is dead.”

"Rama tried to change his stance in some of the activities that took place later, which is believed to be due to the reaction from the Serbian side, through Mr. Vučić. Serbia’s position has been that the Open Balkan should continue," our interlocutor explains.

He adds that it is strange that the change of government in North Macedonia has caused a great shock in the country.

"The first shock came from the Constitutional Court’s decision to revise the attributes of the Albanian language in parliament, in institutions, and throughout the life of the country. The second event is the government's attempt to revise the Open Balkan. It seems that the right-wing coalition has a different stance from the previous Social Democratic Party. The current government wants to avoid this initiative, which it sees as being different from its political, economic, and social positions. The Open Balkan initiative, it seems, is dying out after this Macedonian stance," Andoni states.

According to him, this is also happening because Germany, through the visits of its representative Sarrazin to the Balkans, is trying to revive the Berlin Process.

"I think the Macedonians understand that they have less potential than Serbia, but they also see that they do not have equality with Albania. Additionally, the new relationship between the Macedonian majority and the Albanians of North Macedonia, who paradoxically are part of the government, also plays a role," Andoni concludes.