Andrej Zhernovski, member of the SDSM EB and Secretary for International Cooperation, presented party information at a press conference today that the ground is being prepared for accepting the French proposal, i.e. that there is a secret agreement by the Government to start negotiations with the European Union.
"Our information from Brussels says that Mickoski's government has already agreed on this, and these are clear signals that have come from Brussels, Berlin, and Paris. Literally all the attempts and lies that people from the government were trying to sell us have been exhausted. You remember, it all started with some kind of delayed effect, then with special conditions, then that we would have, right, some kind of special agreements for us, and so on. So the latest we heard from Mickoski is that we will have entered the European Union, but without the right to vote. All of that has fallen by the wayside and there is no longer any room for new improvisations...
They are trying to create a strategy to portray as a victory what until yesterday was a lie and high treason for them.
"I want to explain this to you by saying that all of us, as politicians, journalists, and citizens, were surprised by the sudden turn in Timcho Mucunski's politics and diplomacy... In order to prepare the ground even more deeply, his assurances came that, imagine, the protocol is not part of the negotiating framework," said Zhernovski from SDSM in his address to the public.
The claims made at the SDSM press conference were immediately followed by a reaction from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
"Today's press conference by SDSM is another attempt to create hysteria and misinform the public. Instead of taking responsibility and apologizing for the damage it has caused to the national and foreign policy positions of the country, SDSM is once again spreading gross untruths and fabrications. The claims of a secret agreement or secret negotiations are just another in a series of fabrications that SDSM is spreading to the public," says the reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MNFRT) to today's press conference by Andrej Zhernovski from SDSM.
It is a fact, it adds, that the institutions regularly communicate with the member states of the European Union, with the European institutions, with Bulgaria and with other international partners. These discussions are conducted transparently, and the Government's position is clear and repeatedly publicly confirmed.
"There are no concessions to national interests, identity, language and history. Full membership in the European Union remains a strategic determination and ultimate goal of this Government. This is precisely where the essential difference between this Government and SDSM lies. In the past, agreements and compromises were accepted far from the public eye and to the detriment of national positions. Today, foreign policy is conducted responsibly, principledly and in accordance with national interests and the will of the citizens. Transparency and consistent protection of national interests are the key difference between this and the previous government," the reaction points out.
It is emphasized that it is more than obvious that SDSM finds it more important to court certain political circles in the neighborhood through such press conferences than to defend the interests of its own country and its own people.
"Contrary to their irresponsible approach, the Government and the Ministry act in a principled manner and make all decisions transparently, in front of the public and in accordance with clearly established state positions," the Ministry of National Education and Science said in a statement.
