President Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova had her annual address to Parliament today, in which she focused on the stalled EU integrations and the calls for greater fight against corruption. On the EU front, President Siljanovska said that if the EU musters strength to find a way to integrate Ukraine, it must definitely find a solution to bring Macedonia in as well.

We need political will, among us and in the Union. We have proposed several political solutions and it is up to the EU to pick one of them, or to find a solution by itself. If they can do it for Ukraine, they can do it for our country as well, President Siljanovska said, adding that Macedonia can’t be expected to emerge from the process without national identity – like the old man from Hemingway novel, with only the bare bones of the fish he pursued.

The President noted the positive tone of the EU progress reports in the years when Macedonia would make massive concessions on national identity issues – such as the name change, and the more critical tone in other years. “The EU scales apparently value more our constitutional changes than the actual reforms”, the President said.

On the problem with the necessary judicial reforms and the need for greater fight against corruption, Siljanovska said that the Kocani nightclub disaster put the entire country on the pillar of shame and that tolerance for corruption and impunity for crime increase dangers of such disasters. Siljanovska called for a new law that will regulate the Judicial Council – the much criticized body that elects and promotes judges.

The old law generated a crisis in the judiciary. It allowed for politization and incompetence. The new law, which went through the strictest filters in the Venice Commission, and which I believe will be adopted soon, elevates the criteria for election and the transparency. The success of our judicial reforms will determine whether the judiciary will have strength to say “no” to the politicians, President Siljanovska urged the Parliament.