The name of the new deputy prime minister in charge of EU affairs will be revealed next week. VMRO-DPMNE sources said that the new deputy prime minister would come from this party and they stressed that Ivica Bocevski, who submitted an irrevocable resignation from this post, would remain part of the team, Dnevnik writes.
The sources did not specify whether Bocevski would remain part of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski or President Gjorge Ivanov’s team. The daily has learned that diplomatic representatives in Macedonia insisted that a suitable position be found for Bocevski so as to take advantage of his capacity, which was confirmed through his efforts and achievements in the sphere of EU integration. This could also be an explanation for the dilemma that arose as regards the content of Bocevski’s written resignation and the Government’s statement. Even though Bocevski stressed in his written resignation that his contribution in the Government is completely exhausted, the Government wrote in its statement that the cooperation with Bocevski would continue at different levels. This same phrase can be found in all statements given by VMRO-DPMNE officials and ministers.
Government Spokesman Martin Martinovski yesterday negated the reports that Bocevski submitted his resignation to the prime minister two weeks ago, assessing this as speculation.