Mitsotakis says ND will not ratify FYROM’s accession protocol, calls for elections
Conservative opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday reiterated his party's decision not to ratify the protocol for the accession of “North Macedonia” into NATO, describing it as “the final act in a damaging agreement,” during a debate in Parliament.
Speaking to lawmakers, he said the ratification is taking place through a process that “demeans” parliamentary norms “in an unprecedented way”, by forming temporary alliances using the vote of “some eager deputies.”
He also said that his party will not relinquish the right to veto the accession of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to the European Union, once the process gets underway.
“The negative consequences [of the deal] will have to be mitigated measure by measure, day by day. And I repeat once again: I do not forgo the right to veto Skopje's accession in the European Union,” he said, adding that New Democracy does not object in principle to FYROM's entry into NATO, but it opposes granting “Macedonian” ethnicity and language to its neighbor.
Mitsotakis also criticized the political upheaval which resulted from the divisions created in several parties over the Prespes accord, saying the composition of the parliament has been altered and elections have to be called.
