Bozinovski: I don't see why North Macedonia would leave the Open Balkan initiative

Vladimir Bozinovski, a professor of political science and program director at the Institute for Political Research in Skopje, believes there is no reason why North Macedonia should withdraw from the Open Balkan initiative, and any such proposal should include a reasoned explanation.

"For Macedonia to leave the initiative, all relevant political factors would need to agree. To achieve that, we need arguments and to discuss those arguments, involving the expert and intellectual public. If there is harm, then we can talk, but for now, I don't see anything negative," Bozinovski stated.

Commenting on the announcement by the presidential candidate of the "VLEN" coalition, Arben Taravari, that one of his first decisions upon assuming the presidency of North Macedonia would be to withdraw from the Open Balkan initiative, Bozinovski says for Kosovo Online that there is no doubt that this is an election promise directed at a certain segment of the electorate. However, he warns that such promises should be accompanied by appropriate argumentation because they involve decisions related to a country's membership in international organizations or partnerships.

"An explanation should be provided for why it is good for Macedonia to leave the Open Balkan initiative, or what negative impacts Macedonia suffers from membership in the initiative itself. Since we haven't heard that yet, or at least I haven't, it is just an election promise for now. We need arguments for entering or leaving the initiative. Even if the initiative brings no benefit to the state but benefits the country, and if there is no harm, I really don't see a reason to abandon it. I hope that if Taravari insists on this, he will have to further explain the benefits or harm that Macedonia would incur from withdrawing from this initiative," Bozinovski explained.