CIVIC WORLD 55

Only together can we move better and faster towards the EU
 
“Together-for one” was the theme of The Fourth NGO Fair – Forum of the Civil Society in Macedonia that took place in 2004, a year dedicated to the integrations in the European Union (EU). A year later, Macedonia is a candidate for EU membership, without a set date for the beginning of the talks.

That is a better moment for the Macedonian progress towards the EU. Of course, there are other important challenges on that road that we can accomplish sooner or later. Could things be better?

Certainly. Provided we achieved “Together-for one”.

Besides the general consensus on the EU integrations, supported by 91.2% of the Macedonian citizens, we are demonstrating problems in reaching unity. I would not comment here on the lack of it on party level, since that has been going on in the civil society organizations as well. One of the rare joint activities “Say OK for MK”, organized by MCIC, Forum and Search for Common Ground, got flak from a third civil society organization, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.

So, apart from the high level of consensus on macro (strategic), or general level, when we are approaching macro and micro levels, the disagreements become visible. Probably, as we will be approaching EU, the consensus on macro level will be reducing, while the consensus on micro level will grow, especially of groups that might be feeling as losers in the process of EU integration. That process happened in the other countries; probably Poland and Bulgaria illustrate it best. At the elections which took place in these two countries, big part of the citizens voted for populist platforms, including here the extreme right-wing populism of Ataka in Bulgaria.

Therefore, in Macedonia, we must carefully analyse why we do not have a constructive dialogue (substantial, and not formal and declarative), since the pro-European forces will have to find ways to realize dialogue and reach consensus as a preparation for the potential populist wave. On the other hand, the civil society organizations have even bigger responsibility, the task of “breaking the ice” and encouraging the dialogue and cooperation. The promoted National Council and the EU Integration Forum have to start operating as soon as possible, so that we can fasten things up and move faster towards the EU through an improved dialogue and cooperation in solving the problems in our society.

“The Centre is where you are”, was the theme of this year’s Fifth NGO Fair – Forum of the Civil Society in Macedonia. It is a theme where the national consensus is lower then the one for the EU integrations. It is a key process, too. The visible dialogue between the local government and the civil society is a sign of encouragement that the decentralization process is beginning to get the micro level support and that with an increased pressure from underneath it will work.

 

Happy Holidays!

Saso Klekovski