NGO INFO-CENTRE MACEDONIAN CENTER FOR EUROPEAN TRAINING

MEDIA MONITORING SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER 2012 IN THE NAME OF THE DATE

SKOPJE, December 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION 3

II CONCLUSIONS 3

III QUANTITATIVE OVERVIEW 5

IV QUALITATIVE OVERVIEW 7

1. As EC's Progress Report Approaches 7 1.1 Diplomatic Manoeuvres 7 1.2 EC's Progress Report is Announced 9

2. EC's Progress Report 11 2.1 The Most Positive Report So Far 11 2.2 Negotiations as a Framework for the Solution of the Name-Dispute 12 2.3 Reactions on the EC's Progress Report 13 2.4 The Economy 13 2.5 The War Veterans 14 2.6 The Adjective Returns 14

3. AFTER THE EC'S PROGRESS REPORT 14 3.1 What is this parallel negotiations framework? 14 3.2 The Memorandum 16 3.3 Are we Slavo-Macedonians for Europe? 18 3.4 Macedonian-Bulgarian Relations 18

2 I Introduction The NGO Info-centre, in cooperation with the Macedonian Centre for European Training (MCET), and with financial support from the Foundation Open Society Macedonia (FOSM), implemented, in the period from September 19 to November 20, 2012, a monitoring of media reporting and coverage of European integration processes in the Republic of Macedonia, with special emphasis on the European Commission’s 2012 Progress Report on the Republic of Macedonia. The monitoring covered seven daily newspapers ("”, “”, “”, “Večer“, "”, “” and “”), the central news programmes aired by seven television stations that broadcast nationally or over the satellite (24 Vesti TV1, Kanal 5 TV, Sitel TV, Telma TV2, MTV1, Alfa TV3 and AlsatM TV), and six internet news portals (Sky.mk, MKD.mk, Libertas.mk, Plusinfo.mk, Kurir.mk and A1.on). The monitoring covered the Monday, Wednesday and Friday coverage on TV stations and portals, and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday editions of the daily newspapers. The monitoring focused on the following journalistic genres: news, statements, reports, commentaries/editorials and interviews.

II Conclusions In the period covered by this report, the European Commission (EC) released its annual Progress Report on Macedonia which, as in previous years, attracted the bulk of media attention. One characteristic of this year’s coverage was the almost total absence of any analysis of the progress Macedonia achieved in a number of areas covered by the Progress Report. The majority of the media actively supported Government’s agenda to attempt and present the Progress Report as the most positive so far, and journalistic reports and stories were dominated by the messages presented by the politicians from the ruling coalition. That manner of reporting illustrates the fact that some media act as mouthpieces for Government policies, making no attempt to bring up topics and questions that would engage in a deeper and more critical analysis of the European integration processes in the country. Having in mind the media reporting over the past several years when there were some efforts to raise some essential subjects and questions and for critical observation of European integrations, there is the unavoidable conclusion that while journalists have sufficient capacities to follow and cover the European integrations, it is likely that editorial policies of a number of media outlets are in direct correlation with Government’s positions and agenda.

1 For technical reasons, the central news programmes on 24 Vesti TV of October 26 and 29 were not recorded. 2 For technical reasons, the central news programmes on Telma TV of October 26 and 29 were not recorded. 3 For technical reasons, the central news programmes on Alfa TV of September 21, September 28, October 5, 19 and 26 were not recorded.

3 As far as individual issues are concerned, the media paid greatest attention to the Report’s remarks on the economic criteria (the topic actually preferred and pushed forward by the Government).

Unlike last year, when the journalists joined the heated debate on the omission of the adjective “Macedonian” by the European Commission, this year the debate was reduced to praising President Ivanov who claimed all credit for the “return of the adjective” for himself. While Macedonian media saw it as “injustice corrected”, Greek media interpreted the return of the adjective as a result of a “blackmail” forcing Brussels to give in to the pressure coming from .

Albanian representatives in the Government, on the other hand, raised the issue of whether the EC recommended to cover Albanian fighters in the disputed law to regulate the special rights of the war veterans (the proper translation would be “defenders”). The fact that Macedonian and Albanian representatives in the Government had different interpretations of the Progress report also attracted attention. Albanian leaders’ comments were dominated by a moderate emphasis on the negative remarks, while Macedonian leaders emphasized only the positive remarks. The media paid little, if any, attention to that dissonance.

During this period, the media finally raised the issue of the need for the state to appoint a chief negotiator. The debate, on the other hand, didn’t last long, was treated in a handful of articles and died quickly.

It is worth noting that the public, and especially the media who are not considered to be pro- government, engaged in a debate on the framework for parallel processes of negotiations on the name and the accession, proposed by the EC. Those media analyzed that proposal in the context of the Memorandum of understanding presented by the Greek diplomacy, the need to resolve the naming dispute in the early stages of negotiations with the EU, and the intensified activities to resolve the problem. On the other hand, the media that are perceived as pro-government, encouraged the sense of triumphalism in their coverage of that initiative of the EC, and contributed to the high expectations in the public – which are unfounded and could lead to disappointment and another wave of Euro-scepticism and criticism of the European Commission if its initiative doesn’t yield results. Some media characterized the Memorandum as a “Trojan Horse” and a conspiracy.

While the High-Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD) was the most covered topic in the previous two monitoring periods, this time around the HLAD went practically unmentioned by the media, and they didn’t report much on the areas it covers, either. Also, unlike the period of the release of last year’s Progress Report, when European Commissioner Stefan Füle was often targeted by media criticism which saw him as an obstacle for Macedonia, this year the media reported his work and activities in an extremely positive context, describing him as a great

4 supporter of the country. On the other hand, this year it was the Greek media that attacked Füle, viewing his diplomatic initiatives as a “British conspiracy”.

The main characteristic of this period was the fact that the media reported and commented the Macedonian-Bulgarian relations and the possibility for Bulgaria to block Macedonia on the path to European integrations with great intensity. The bulk of media contents presented Bulgaria in a negative view, creating an anti-Bulgarian atmosphere and often leading the public to believe that Greece is not the only neighbour opposed to Macedonia’s integration into the . Some media went even further in the attempt to illustrate Macedonia’s situation with allusions that the current “Greek-Bulgarian coalition” is reminiscent to the Agreement of Bucharest of 1913.

III Quantitative Overview Between September 19 and November 20, 2012, the media published and aired a total of 774 items of all genres dedicated to the subject of European integrations. Of that total, 218 (28%) were aired in the central news programmes of television broadcasters, 303 (39%) were published in the daily newspapers, and 253 (33%) were published on the internet portals.

Table 1: Breakdown of television coverage, by broadcaster

Television station No. of reports and percentage of the total

Kanal 5 TV 44 (6%)

24 Vesti TV 38 (5%)

МТВ1 38 (5%)

Sitel TV 36 (5%)

Alfa TV 25 (3%)

AlsatM TV 20 (3%)

Telma TV 17 (2%)

5 Table 2: Breakdown of print media coverage, by newspaper

Newspaper No. of reports and percentage of the total

Utrinski vesnik 69 (9%)

Dnevnik 56 (7%)

Večer 53 (7%)

Den 40 (5%)

Nova Makedonija 34 (4%)

Vest 29 (4%)

Fokus 22 (3%)

Table 3: Breakdown of online coverage, by internet portal

Web-site No. of reports and percentage of the total

Sky.mk 69 (9%)

Kurir.mk 54 (7%)

Plusinfo.mk 44 (6%)

MKD.mk 43 (5%)

А1.он 28 (4%)

Libertas.mk 15 (2%)

6 Table 4: Breakdown of coverage by genre

Genre No. of reports and percentage of the total

Reports 562 (73%)

News 116 (15%)

Statements 55 (7%)

Commentaries/Editorials 26 (3%)

Interviews 13 (2%)

Other 2 (0,25%)

IV Qualitative Overview

1. As EC's Progress Report Approaches

1.1 Diplomatic Manoeuvres In the beginning of the period covered by this monitoring, and immediately after the third round of the High-Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD), almost all media reported the "rude awakening"4, i.e. the interview that European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle gave to Radio Free Europe, in which he said that “it is not realistic to believe that Macedonia could proceed towards the start of negotiations with the EU and, at the same time, to leave the name- dispute to be resolved at the end of negotiations".5 According to the media, with that statement, Füle "brought down all hopes that we could get the date in December”.6

During that period, the media announced that Füle planned to visit Athens to meet the Greek leadership.7 According to Füle, the visit to Athens resulted in a "constructive and productive discussion” with the Greek foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos8, and the media also carried his messages that “the enlargement has to move forward”9, and his emphasis that "the most important thing is to resolve the issue of the name”.10 The media commented that Füle’s mission in Athens was “to work out some progress in the negotiations on the name”11 and presented Avramopoulos’s position on "a solution that would be mutually acceptable and based on mutual

4 Nova Makedonija, September 22, 2012 5 Kurir.mk, September 21, 2012 6 Fokus, September 22, 2012 7 Libertas.mk, October 1, 2012 8 Sky.mk, October 1, 2012 9 Plusinfo.mk, October 1, 2012 10Vest, October 2, 2012 11 Telma TV, October 1, 2012

7 respect of each other's culture and history".12 At the same time, the media reported that Füle sent a message from Athens that the opening of the negotiations would create a "win-win situation for both Macedonia and Greece”.13

Füle’s activities coincided with the announcements that Macedonian foreign minister Nikola Poposki and his Greek counterpart Avramopoulos would meet, for the first time, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.14 On the eve of that meeting, the media carried Avramopoulos’s statements announcing that he intended to ask the UN Secretary General for "the UN and the international factor to be more engaged and involved in the name-dispute”.15 At the same time, Poposki denied “the speculations about some secret negotiations mediated by the U.S., during which the U.S. pressed for the name Upper Macedonia to be accepted"16, and the media also reported his message that we should not have great expectations from the meeting17 and the announcement that he intended to present the message to his Greek colleague that "Macedonia has no territorial pretences towards Greece, whatsoever".18

The media commented that Avramopoulos, after his meeting with Ban Ki-Moon, "passed the ball and accused Macedonia for the stuck negotiations, emphasizing the need for Macedonia to respond to the presented initiatives with full respect for Greek history".19 After the meeting, the media reported that Avramopoulos’s leading message was that “history is the key”20 for the solution, and that, regarding the alleged irredentism, “Macedonia had not territorial pretences"21, adding that: "Once we resolve this issue, we will have the opportunity to realize the huge potentials of our mutual relations”.22 According to some media, the meeting was not a purely protocolary affair and it also touched on subjects ranging "from the respect for the judgement of to the need to recognize the right to self-determination".23 The media reported that the Macedonian delegation described the meeting as “an opportunity to get to know each other”.24

Those diplomatic activities coincided with the information that the word from Athens was that there was lot of talk about increased pressure to resolve the problem, and the media also carried the statement by former Greek diplomat (currently Special Advisor at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Affairs ELIAMEP) Alexandros Mallias, who said that: "Over the next three months, the Government of Greece should expect an intensified pressure to give up its red

12 MTV1, October 1, 2012 13 Utrinski vesnik, October 1, 2012 14 Alfa TV, September 19, 2012 15 Utrinski vesnik, September 20, 2012 16 Sitel TV, September 21, 2012 17 Vest, September 22, 2012 18 Večer, September 22, 2012 19 Kanal 5 TV, September 24, 2012 20 Sitel TV, September 24, 2012 21 Kanal 5 TV, September 24, 2012 22 MKD.mk, September 28, 2012 23 Alfa TV, September 24, 2012 24 AlsatM TV, September 24, 2012

8 lines”.25 At the same time, the media raised the issue if it was possible to transfer the dispute from UN to EU, as a chapter of negotiations26

It was later reported that Avramopoulos presented Poposki with a Memorandum of Understanding "which needs to be accepted and signed by both sides and which lists the basic parameters for a possible mutually acceptable solution that would provide the framework for continued negotiations"27, and that Poposki welcomed that document on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA): “All good neighbours work to reduce the sense of being threatened. They respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and promote cross- border relations and ties. They adopt decisions that respect the democratic principles and the rule of law, both at home and abroad. They absolutely respect all accepted obligations. They take care to build trust and respect the feelings and the rights of their own citizens and the feelings and the rights of their neighbour”.28 Some media commented that "The Greeks were mislead" in their expectations that the Memorandum "would be denounced outright", and saw, in the response of the Foreign Minister Poposki, a diplomatically phrased message that "the Memorandum was worthless”.29 They carried the appeal by Stevo Pendarovski from the opposition party SDSM to the Government to respond, as soon as possible, with a memorandum of its own that would list the Macedonian red lines.30 Citing unofficial sources in the Government, some media commented that the Memorandum was “intended for the international audience with the aim to buy some time for Greece” and reported that the Macedonian tactic would be to present a package of objections to prevent for Macedonia to be seen and perceived as uncooperative.31 The media also cited diplomatic circles who described the Memorandum as a “Trojan Horse”.32 Alluding to Brussels' pressure on Serbia to sign an agreement with Kosovo, some media asked "if it wasn't Brussels behind all of this".33 The press reported that the state leadership wasn’t in a rush to respond to that initiative, i.e. it intended to wait for the EC's Progress Report to be released.34

1.2 EC's Progress Report is Announced Before the release of the EC’s Progress Report, the media cited a report by Greek daily "To Vima" and reported that the EC will reinstate the adjective "Macedonian" in its documents.35 They carried information from the same source that "a lot of movement was going on" in Athens ahead of the release of the Progress Report on Macedonia36, due to the fact that "during the last

25 Utrinski vesnik, September 22, 2012 26 Nova Makedonija, September 25, 2012 27 Alfa TV, October 4, 2012 28 AlsatM TV, October 5, 2012 29 KANAL 5 TV, October 5, 2012 30 Večer, October 6, 2012 31 Utrinski vesnik, October 6, 2012 32 Dnevnik, October 6, 2012 33 Dnevnik, October 9, 2012 34 Utrinski vesnik, October 9, 2012 35 KANAL 5 TV, September 19, 2012 36 Libertas.mk, September 19, 2012

9 visit of (Matthew) Nimetz, there was serious discussion on the proposed name the Republic of Upper Macedonia”.37

At the same time, the media reported that Deputy Prime Minister Teuta Arifi had a meeting in Brussels with Stefano Sannino and other representatives of the Enlargement Directorate38, and she received signals that the coming Report will be a positive one.39 Later, the media claimed that they got a draft of the Report and announced that “it was by far the most positive report for Macedonia so far”40, and that it uses the adjective “Macedonian” several times.41 The journalists noted the following remarks from the draft: "the tensions between the communities in the first half of the year that were a cause for concern", and which were addressed, in the view of the Commission, by the Government with maturity.42 The media reported that the document does mention the judgement of the International Court of Justice.43

The journalists also got their hands on the text of the Enlargement Strategy 2012-2013 and reported that “the strengthening of the rule of law and democracy” were at the centre of the strategy.44 Some media reasoned that the main message of the Report would be: "It is time to get the start of negotiations date, and the name will be resolved in the process".45 The media carried similar messages from diplomatic sources from Brussels that, allegedly, the EC would ask “for EU to start negotiations with Macedonia, and the problem with the name should be resolved in a parallel process, under condition that it is resolved in the early stages of negotiations".46 Regarding the feasibility of that proposal, the journalists concluded that “The Government is reserved, and the experts' opinions differ"47, while Deputy Prime Minister Arifi concurred that it was "too early to make predictions if we will get the date in September”.

37 Večer, September 20, 2012 38 A1on, September 28, 2012 39 Libertas.mk, September 28, 2012 40 Kurir.mk, October 5, 2012 41 Plusinfo.mk, October 5, 2012 42 Sitel TV, October 5, 2012 43 Večer, October 6, 2012 44 Večer, October 6, 2012 45 Alfa TV, October 8, 2012 46 Utrinski vesnik, October 10, 2012 47 Fokus, October 10, 2012

10 2. EC's Progress Report

2.1 The Most Positive Report So Far After the Progress Report was released, the media paid greatest attention to the fact that Macedonia again got the recommendation to start negotiations. Some journalists commented euphorically that it was "the best political assessment for Macedonia since the country gained its independence", and the most important was "the return of the adjective ‘Macedonian’ that has disappeared magically from the reports for the past two years”.48 Other media noted that Macedonia received “the best marks so far and the fourth in a row recommendation to start negotiations with EU”49, and also commented on the fact that “putting its own credibility on the line, the European Commission stood firmly behind Macedonia”.50

The media carried the remarks made by Prime Minister that it was the most positive report for the country51, reported that he promised an action plan that would address the remarks and objections and his statement that Macedonia got confirmation for the good work the country has done: "We worked hard after the publication of last year’s progress report, and we will continue to do that tomorrow. We are prepared to start the negotiations at any moment”.52 According to the press, Teuta Arifi made similar remarks: “This analysis, too, leaves the impression that this is a very positive report that notes significant results and achievements of obligations arising from the European integration process. This success is a result of the maximum effort of the institutions, the NGO sector and our partners in the European Commission".53 The media also carried the statements by minister Poposki that Macedonia has the capacity to start negotiations: “Their start will contribute to the creation of favourable conditions to resolve the open bilateral issues that should not hold the accession process back".54

The media commented that the Report “was a major point scored by Macedonian diplomacy", having in mind that "the EC proposed that one form of the Croatian-Slovenian model should apply to Macedonia" and remarked that "it stirred up reactions in the global expert community": “Greek diplomats admit to me that they have went too far a long time ago and that they can’t get out of the dispute now” (Avgustin Pallokaj, Brussels correspondent for Croatian daily “Jutarnji List”).55 Only a handful of media analyzed the contents of the Report, estimating that "the progress of reforms was graded with a three" while the state "flunked in the area of respect for human rights and media freedoms" for the fourth time in a row.56

48 Sitel TV, October 10, 2012 49 Dnevnik, October 11, 2012 50 Kurir.mk, October 10, 2012 51 Alfa TV, October 10, 2012 52 Kurir.mk, October 10, 2012 53 Plusinfo.mk, October 12, 2012 54 Kurir.mk, October 11, 2012 55 Kurir.mk, October 11, 2012 56 Vesti 24, October 11, 2012

11 The journalists also referred to the wider context of EU-Balkans relations, commenting that “for the first time, the EU and the Balkans agree that there is no need to rush with the enlargement".57 They also carried and commented EC’s grades on the other countries in the region which also got “the best reports so far”, which speaks about “on one hand, about the progress they made, and on the other, about the realisation at the leadership of the Union that, if they didn’t want to totally discourage the European impulse in the region, they should then somehow give it a boost”.58 In that context, the media carried the view of European Commissioner Füle that "with the renewed recommendation, the EC preserved its credibility”.59 Several commentators noted that “without (Erwan) Fouere around, Macedonia is a successful state”, hinting at the claims that Fouere, former EU Ambassador to Macedonia, because of his allegedly close ties with the opposition, pushed for negative reports during his term in Macedonia.60

2.2 Negotiations as a Framework for the Solution of the Name-Dispute Before and after the Progress Report was released, the media covered and commented on EC’s proposal to open negotiations and to resolve the name-dispute in the early stages of negotiations. The media carried the statement by Commissioner Füle denoting such a proposal: “EC is prepared to present, without any delay, a plan for a negotiating framework which would also take into account the need to resolve the issue of the name in the early stages of accession negotiations”.61 Citing diplomatic sources in Brussels, the journalists claimed that the proposal “made it clear that there will be no progress to the later stages without a solution for the dispute"62, and that Greece's position would depend on the answer Macedonia gives to the Greek memorandum.63

The media dedicated some space to the opinions of the expert community. They presented, for example, the view of Ivica Bocevski, who believes that the proposal was a signal to the state that it should define how far it was prepared to go to secure the EU membership: “Macedonia should not run, like a headless chicken, into solutions that touch on its fundamental… definitions what constitutes the Macedonian statehood and what constitutes the Macedonian identity”.64 The media reported that other well-informed experts and analysts expressed their “suspicions about the outcome” of the initiative: “Greece will insist on some sort of time frame. I fear that it, the time frame for solution of the problem, will be too tight for our official politics” (Denko Maleski).65 At the same time, some media raised the question what did the “early stage of negotiations” mean66, and carried the optimistic statement by Teuta Arifi: “The EC, by framing

57 Dnevnik, October 10, 2012 58 Dnevnik, October 12, 2012 59 Kurir.mk, October 10, 2012 60 Nova Makedonija, October 12, 2012 61 MKD.mk, October 10, 2012 62 Vest, October 10, 2012 63 24 Vesti TV, October 11, 2012 64 24 Vesti TV, October 11, 2012 65 AlsatM TV, October 11, 2012 66 24 Vesti TV, October 12, 2012

12 the proposal in this way, intends to give an additional impulse to our country and believes we will maintain our constructive approach to the negotiations”.67

2.3 Reactions on the EC's Progress Report The media initially commented on the silence of the Greek media, who almost completely ignored the Progress Report.68 They also carried the statement by Michael Hammer, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, who called on Macedonia and Greece to get actively involved in the process of finding solution to the name-dispute.69 At the same time, citing a report by Deutsche Welle, they carried the messages of the State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry that Germany was pressured both Skopje and Athens to reach a compromise.70 The media interpreted those statements as the “tightening of the reigns on Skopje and Athens” and announced that the diplomatic pressure coming from the U.S. and EU to resolved the name-dispute will intensify over the coming months.71 The media reported the reactions of the opposition, i.e. the statement by MP Gordan Georgiev who said that “in spite of the formal progress, there was a real regression of situation in the areas of freedom of speech and democracy”.72

2.4 The Economy Among individual remarks and grades listed in the Progress Report, the media paid the greatest attention to the remarks on Macedonian economy. The media reported that, in general, EC’s remarks on the economy were positive73, and carried the statement by Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs Vladimir Peševski: “There were certain remarks on the problems that we all know too well. The high unemployment rate is one of them, but, at a time of economic crisis, Macedonia was one of the countries that managed to maintain a relatively stable level of unemployment”.74 The press identified several other weaknesses of Macedonian economy noted in the Progress Report – “lengthy administrative procedures, corruption and difficulties in delivery of contracts”75 and “debts”, while “unemployment and poverty” and “management of IPA programmes”76 were noted as areas without progress. The media concluded that “The report provides extremely detailed and precise scan of the situation of Macedonian economy and offers sufficient arguments both for those critical of the work of the Government, and for those who tend to view things through pink glasses”.77

67 AlsatM TV, October 12, 2012 68 Sky.mk, October 11, 2012 69 MKD.mk, October 12, 2012 70 Sky.mk, October 10, 2012 71 Den, October 13, 2012 72 A1on, October 10, 2012 73 Kurir.mk, October 11, 2012 74 Alfa TV, October 11, 2012 75 24 Vesti TV, October 10, 2012 76 AlsatM TV, October 10, 2012 77 Utrinski vesnik, October 12, 2012

13 2.5 The War Veterans The part of the Progress Report in which the European Commission asks for “solution for the status of victims of the 2001 conflict”78 caused great attention in the public. The media reported that the remarks even helped MP “recover his ability to speak“, since he invoked it, at the Parliamentary Committee of Labour and Social Policies, in his argumentation that the Law on Special Rights of War Veterans should cover all victims of the conflict.79 The newly- created situation was described by the media as the “Brussels’ trap for the ruling coalition”.80

2.6 The Adjective Returns The media paid great attention to the fact that, “after the strong and vehement reactions of the Macedonian state leadership, the EC again used the adjective ‘Macedonian’ twice in the Report”81, meaning that “after two years of unjust avoidance of its use”, the European Commission “corrected the injustice”.82 The return of the adjective was commented by Macedonian President : “There is this old saying, if you don’t fight, you have already lost… This should be an example for us, whenever there is something that is ours, but also belongs to others and is denied to us – we have to react in this way”.83 The media carried the reactions of the spokesman of the Greek Foreign Ministry Gregoris Delavekouras, who said that the return of the adjective was a “result of a blackmail”.84

3. After the EC's Progress Report

3.1 What is this parallel negotiations framework? In the period after the release of the Progress Report, the media covered the visit by Stefano Sannino, the Director General of the EU Enlargement Directorate, and reported his expectations: “We hope that we can truly advance to the next stage of our relations. This demands that we double our efforts to make sure that we will have a positive recommendation from the Council come December”.85 The media reported that Sannino met with the opposition leader , who estimated that “the allocation of the date and the start of negotiations for EU membership will give a push to the reform processes in Macedonia and will force the Government to truly dedicate itself to the priorities”.86 Sannino’s visit was interpreted by the media as a sign that “EU will pressure for Macedonia to get the start of negotiations date”.87 At the same time, the media reported the position of Gerald Knaus from the European Stability

78 MKD.mk, October 10, 2012 79 Sky.mk, October 12, 2012 80 24 Vesti TV, October 12, 2012 81 Vest, October 11. 2012 82 MKD.mk, October 10, 2012 83 MKD.mk, October 10, 2012 84 Vest, October 12, 2012 85 MKD.mk, October 15, 2012 86 Sky.mk, October 15, 2012 87 Plusinfo.mk, October 15, 2012

14 Initiative (ESI), who said he expected increased diplomatic activity on the eve of the European Council session in December.88

Later, the majority of the media quoted a “To Vima” daily’s report in which unnamed diplomatic sources are quoted who said that Greece should not worry because the proposal of the Commission exceeds Füle’s mandate.89 The media contacted Füle’s office where they were reassured that the Commission was prepared to propose the framework immediately: “EC is prepared to present, without any delay, a plan for a negotiating framework which would also take into account the need to resolve the issue of the name in the early stages of accession negotiations” 90.The media also reported Füle’s visit to Sofia, where he had several meetings with the Bulgarian leadership and expressed his conviction that “it is not good to leave a partner to wait outside for too long”.91 Then, the media carried the statement Füle gave to Reuters, again very optimistic: “We receive positive signals from Skopje and Athens that show that the resolution for the name-dispute could come after the start of the accession negotiations, instead of being a condition that needs to be met to start the negotiations”.92 German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, too, welcomed those initiatives: “I believe that the Commission has done a very convincing work. Of course, we will go over all proposals made by the Commission in detail, but I would not give a final assessment at this time, since we are yet to make proper evaluations”.93

In the meantime, the media started reporting messages coming from Athens with increased frequency. The public was informed that, according to Greek Member of European Parliament Maria Eleni Koppa, Greece finds the proposal for parallel negotiations unacceptable.94 The media informed the public about the warnings to the Greek Government in the Greek media that the U.S. will increase the pressure to lift the blockade of Macedonia95 and wrote about “Greek merciless position” on the proposal that they viewed as a “personal intent of Commissioner Stefan Füle to show some success during his term as European Enlargement Commissioner”.96 The media reported as a curiosity the story that 70 Greek organisations and associations wrote a letter to Füle saying that Macedonia was not prepared to start negotiations because the country used nationalist rhetoric directed at its neighbours.97 Greek President Karolos Papoulias used even stronger language in his meeting with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, warning that “we shall never give our consent unless a mutually acceptable solution is found for a single name for universal use, which will correspond to reality”.98 The media reported that Gregoris Delavakouras also responded to Füle’s positive statements, asking the European Commissioner

88 Alfa TV, October 17, 2012 89 Dnevnik, October 18, 2012 90 Дневик, October 20, 2012 91 Sky.mk, October 31, 2012 92 Plusinfo.mk, November 9, 2012 93 Dnevnik, November 10, 2012 94 24 Vesti TV, October 19, 2012 95 Kanal 5 TV, October 23, 2012 96 Dnevnik, October 30, 2012 97 Dnevnik, November 1, 2012 98 MKD.mk, November 9, 2012

15 “to review and reconsider all the facts”99, and the public learned from media reports that even the media like “Proto Thema” weren’t immune to the heated rhetoric, claiming that there was a “British conspiracy in favour of Skopje”, based on alleged close ties that businesspeople close to David Cameron maintained with Macedonian elites.100

This is how the media commented on the Greek tactics: “The serious financial crisis that, allegedly, prevented Athens from working seriously on the negotiations on the name with Macedonia, doesn’t prevent them today to get fiercely involved with a new veto for our country in the December summit of the EU”.101

The coverage of the new round of negotiations on the name in New York, under the aegis of the , coincided with that rise of the heated rhetoric. According to the media, Macedonian chief negotiator Zoran Jolevski expressed his gratitude to mediator Nimetz and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for their initiative to find a solution102, while Nimetz noted that he presented the negotiators with several proposals: “Both sides expressed preparedness to overcome this dispute and I believe those claims weren’t purely rhetorical.. The overall situation in the region demands that this problem is resolved”.103 Still, the media were mostly interested in “Vassilakis’s (Adamantios Vassilakis, the chief Greek Negotiator) show” when he reacted furiously to the questions of the journalists in the press-conference held after the meeting.104

Because of those developments, some media noted the “unjustified triumphalism” in Macedonia regarding the high expectations from the December summit105, and MP Radmila Šekerinska criticized the Government over the fact that “it left all initiative to the European partners”.106 Some media described the EC’s tactics on the lobbying for the parallel negotiations framework the tactic of “silk net” being spun around Gruevski “from all sides, both inside and outside of the country, and the final knots will likely be done by DUI, on its own initiative”.107 The media also presented the view of journalist Vasko Popetrevski who said at the “Opportunity or Challenge” conference, organized by MCET and FOSM, that the best scenario would be for Macedonia to get “a date on the date” in December 2012.108

3.2 The Memorandum After the announcement of Füle’s plan, the media asked if “the Greek memorandum arrived attached to the most positive report coming from Brussels”, i.e. whether “we will be made to swallow the toad”.109 Once the Progress Report was released, the media carried the statements of

99 Kurir.mk, November 12, 2012 100 Večer, November 20, 2012 101 Utrinski vesnik, November 13, 2012 102 Sky.mk, November 21, 2012 103 Vest, November 22, 2012 104 MKD.mk, November 21, 2012 105 Utrinski vesnik, October 10, 2012 106 Nova Makedonija, November 17, 2012 107 Fokus, November 15, 2012 108 Fokus, November 03, 2012 109 Utrinski vesnik, October 12, 2012

16 those most competent on the matter that “there will be no rushing a response” to the Greek memorandum.110 At the same time, the media reported that the opposition party SDSM said that “In this form, they find the Memorandum unacceptable”111 and demanded from the Prime Minister to present his position on the matter112, and they also reported the reaction by VMRO- DPMNE that SDSM’s refusal meant “a disgraceful attempt to accuse Gruevski’s Government for the eventual Greek veto”.113 The media also brought up again the statement by minister Poposki that the Memorandum contains two problematic points: “any future agreed name should be agreed upon by all sides”, and that it didn’t mention the Hague judgement.114

Citing unofficial sources in Athens, the media reported that Macedonia will get the start of negotiations date from EU only if the Government responded positively to the Greek Memorandum.115 At the same time, the media carried speculations that the Government will respond to the Memorandum only after the European Council’s session in December116. The EU ambassador to Macedonia Aivo Orav also appeared in public to appeal for as quick an answer as possible: “Greece has made a move and it is not on your Government to respond. Greece is a member-state and we hope that your Government will respond to the proposal as soon as possible”.117

At that period, the media reported that minister Poposki responded to the Memorandum with a letter in which he asked for “adherence to the obligations listed in the Interim Agreement, intensified high level dialogue and resolution for the naming dispute with Nimetz’s mediation”.118 The media also reported that Poposki demanded “a balanced and valid framework that would help the process advance, which will take into account the positions of both countries”, with emphasis “on the firm will to overcome the differences about the name”.119

After his response, the media commented on the “silence of the Greek diplomacy”120, and reported that official Brussels welcomed the actions of the Macedonian Government: “It contributes to improved neighbourly relations between the two countries. As we know, to reach progress on the naming dispute, we need constructive dialogue and mutual understanding” (Peter Stano).121 The media reported that the UN122 and the Special Rapporteur of the European Parliament Richard Howitt also greeted the response to the Greek Memorandum.123

110 Utrinski vesnik, October 13, 2012 111 KANAL 5 TV, October 15, 2012 112 Telma TV, October 15, 2012 113 Telma TV, October 15, 2012 114 Utrinski vesnik, October 16, 2012 115 Fokus, October 18, 2012 116 Den, November 1, 2012 117 Sky.mk, November 2, 2012 118 MTV1, November 5, 2012 119 24 Vesti TV, November 5, 2012 120 MTV1, November 7, 2012 121 MTV1, November 7, 2012 122 Utrinski vesnik, November 8, 2012 123 Den, November 8, 2012

17 Later, the public was informed that Dimitris Avramopoulos didn’t think that the Macedonian response was a response at all: “They sent us a letter, which we opened, but we really don’t have an answer yet. We want to see that part of Europe as a part of the European family, but there are conditions to be met and everybody should get in line with that”.124 Minister Poposki reacted to that message: “The letter I sent to my colleague Avramopoulos is very concrete, addresses practical matters that were already addressed in our previous correspondence. This is a concrete response, these are messages we wanted to send and to reflect a common future and joint work and dedication to the realisation of a common goal”.125

3.3 Are we Slavo-Macedonians for Europe? Near the end of the period covered by this monitoring report, the media reported that EU Ambassador to Macedonia Aivo Orav used the insulting term “Slavo-Macedonians” four times in his speech at the European Parliament.126 The media then reported that Orav was summoned for a meeting with President Ivanov127, who demanded from him a public apology to the Macedonian people, but Orav, apart from giving a statement on the issue, offered no apology: “No political statement was made and I certainly had no intention to insult anybody. We, at the European Union institutions understand how sensitive this question is in the country, and I personally understand its sensitivity”.128 Some media found that statement equally insulting and asked if “Orav thinks that we are slavo-morons”.129 The students of the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University reacted, too: “This action is condemning because we are not Slavo- Macedonians, we are Macedonians and our country is the Republic of Macedonia”.130

3.4 Macedonian-Bulgarian Relations In the period covered by this monitoring, the media actually increased the intensity of their reporting and commenting of Macedonian-Bulgarian relations. At the beginning of the period, the media carried the assurances from Stefan Füle’s office that EC will not take sides in the row between Skopje and Sofia over the film “The Third Half”:131 “It is not for the EC to judge or to tell whose interpretations are correct and whose are wrong. If the film is seen by literary critics, but experts and historians as problematic, if it creates problems between Bulgaria and Macedonia, what we need first is for the two sides to seek solution”.132 Citing Bulgarian experts, on the other hand, the media commented that the tense relations between the two countries will not be seen as sufficient reason for Sofia to block Macedonia on the road to EU.133 The media consulted local experts who said that there were no ideal neighbourly relations anywhere in Europe. “There are no ideal neighbourly relations in Europe. In the case of Macedonia, the only

124 Alfa TV, November 12, 2012 125 24 Vesti TV, November 14, 2012 126 MKD.mk, November 16, 2012 127 МТВ, November 19, 2012 128 Kanal 5 TV, November 19, 2012 129 MKD.mk, November 19, 2012 130 MKD.mk, November 19, 2012 131 Alfa TV, September 19, 2012 132 А1on, September 19, 2012 133 Dnevnik, September 20, 2012

18 way to improve the relations with our neighbours is to start the negotiations on EU membership” (Sašo Klekovski).134 The media also carried the conciliatory statements by minister Popovski, who said that “there was no material to start a feud with Bulgaria”. “I don’t see the material that would create a negative climate between Macedonia and Bulgaria. That climate is created by certain actors that carry little political weight in Bulgaria”.135

The media reported that Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, complained to European Commissioner Füle about “the discrimination of Bulgarians in Macedonia”136, carrying his statement: “Lamentably, there is a noticeable trend of growing nationalist rhetoric in the Republic of Macedonia, discriminatory treatment of citizens with Bulgarian affiliation and lots of administrative barriers for Bulgarian businesses”.137 The media reported, at the same time, the President Ivanov responded to Plevneliev’s initiative for joint observation of certain historical events, proposing for the two countries to mark together the Europe Day, the day of Bulgarian recognition of Macedonia or the day diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.138 The newly-created uncertainty of relations were interpreted by the media as a “big NO from Bulgaria for Macedonian membership in the EU”.139

In the meantime, the media reported yet another letter – foreign minister Poposki wrote to his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolay Mladenov to join the efforts to build good neighbourly relations140 and European cooperation: “Let’s build an honest and principled good neighbourly policies and to support each other, on basis of shared values”.141 The experts also offered their comments on those developments: “Bulgaria should assist Macedonia to get integrated. There are some problems and historical misunderstandings, but they should be not used to condition the relations” (Dimitar Betchev).142

The media paid great attention to the interview Bulgarina Prime Minister Boyko Borisov gave to the Greek daily “Ethnos” 143, in which he discussed Macedonian-Bulgarian relations: “When you are a member of NATO and EU, you should view everything realistically and respect the history and the views of the others. The Government in Skopje should resolve these problems with a European approach, thus gaining our support”.144 The media reported that the controversial Bulgarian politician Bozhidar Dimitrov asked for corrections to be made in Macedonian school-books and noted that, otherwise, Macedonia will seek autonomy for Blagoevgrad when it joins the EU.145 The media reminded the public that it was the Bulgarian

134 Nova Makedonija, September 20, 2012 135 Utrinski vesnik, October 22, 2012 136 MTV1, October 31, 2012 137 Sitel TV, October 31, 2012 138 Dnevnik, November 1, 2012 139 Večer, November 1, 2012 140 Kurir.mk, November 2, 2012 141 KANAL 5 TV, November 2, 2012 142 Utrinski vesnik, November 3, 2012 143 MTV1, November 5, 2012 144 KANAL 5 TV, November 5, 2012 145 Sitel TV, November 5, 2012

19 foreign minister Mladenov146 who asked for changes in the history text-books, and they carried the reaction by his Macedonian counterpart Poposki: “I believe we have reached a certain understanding on the idea that we should leave history to historians. I think that, should we stick to that principle, we could ensure the best level of cooperation”.147

The media reported that several unnamed diplomatic representatives from Brussels, consulted by the Macedonian news agency MIA, were surprised by the statements coming from Bulgaria: “Undoubtedly, it means that Bulgaria is vetoing the start of accession negotiations for her neighbour”.148 Some experts commented that “Sofia’s positions on Macedonia are actually worse than the positions held by Athens… For the former (the Bulgarians), we are nothing more than – Bulgarians, albeit unaware of that” (Risto Nikovski).149 Again quoting unnamed European diplomats, the media commented that with its hard positions towards Macedonia, Bulgaria tries to divert Union’s attention from her own problems, like the frozen European funds, the rule of law and next year’s elections.150

Macedonian-Bulgarian relations remained in the focus of the media also because of the trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, held in Sofia151. The media saw that meeting as a fact that “Bulgaria and Greece are united in their opposition to the Macedonia integration into the EU” and carried minister Mladenov’s statement: “Bulgaria has no problem with Macedonia, but we do have problem with the nationalist statements by some political leaders in Macedonia”.152 The media also carried the commentary of the Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin who “assessed as very negative the anti-Macedonian campaign of PM Borisov who, together with President Plevneliev and the foreign minister threatened to block Macedonia on the road to Brussels”.153

146 24 Vesti TV, November 5, 2012 147 Sitel TV, November 5, 2012 148 Kurir.mk, November 5, 2012 149 MKD.mk, November 5, 2012 150 MKD.mk, November 6, 2012 151 MKD.mk, November 12, 2012 152 24 Vesti TV, November 12, 2012 153 KANAL 5 TV, November 12, 2012

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