Macedonia Ohrid Referendum

Answer: The Macedonian government is obliged to uphold its constitutional responsibilities in holding the referendum, much as it has upheld its responsibilities to move forward with Framework Agreement implementation. The United States, in its special capacity as facilitator for and witness to the Ohrid Agreement, welcomes the recent passage of legislation by the Macedonian National Parliament for the restructuring and strengthening of decentralized local government, as agreed to by all major Macedonian parties in the Framework Agreement. We believe that this package of new decentralization laws is not only fully compliant with the Framework Agreement, but will help to create inclusive, ethnically diverse, fiscally stronger, and politically sounder municipalities. Decentralization is a significant step forward for Macedonia toward stronger democracy and Euro-Atlantic integration. Strengthening inclusive democracy and full participation of the people in their government is in the interest of all of Macedonia's citizens, regardless of their ethnicity .