Envoys urge Macedonian government, ethnic Albanian opposition to continue dialogue

SKOPJE, Macedonia — EU envoy to Macedonia Erwan Fouere and British Ambassador Robert Chatterton Dickson issued separate statements Thursday (January 25th) calling for continued political dialogue in the country. The main ethnic Albanian opposition Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) and its ally, the Party of Democratic Prosperity, recently threatened again to boycott Parliament, claiming that the ruling coalition was repeatedly violating the so-called Badinter principle, which requires overwhelming support by minority parties, when minority-related laws are voted. Fouere visited the DUI headquarters Thursday, to persuade leaders to reconsider the boycott decision.

Separately, during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the ambassadors of EU member states, Dickson said the EU expects all parties represented in Parliament to participate actively.