Macedonia Closer to Constitutional Changes

Despite the absence of opposition legislators, a plenary session of the Macedonian parliament is expected to approve a package of seven government-proposed changes to the constitution on Wednesday or Thursday.  

One of the proposed changes, which has drawn criticism from human rights activists, will define marriage more narrowly as a union strictly between one man and one woman.

“The vast majority of Macedonian citizens think of marriage this way,” an MP from the ruling VMRO DPMNE party, Vlatko Gjorcev, said on Monday.

The broad goal was to block any future moves towards same sex adoptions of children, he said, adding that inserting this new, stricter definition of marriage into the constitution will make it much harder to make such changes in future, as they would then require a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Another change will allow for the opening of an “international financial zone” - in effect a tax haven - aimed at encouraging wealthy companies to move operations to Macedonia.

“This will have a double benefit. First, it will establish Macedonian on the international financial map as a destination for international banks, investment funds and corporations, and second, it will create quality jobs,” Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski told the parliamentary commission on the proposed changes on Monday.

He dismissed fears that creating such a zone would turn Macedonia into off-shore destination for criminal money.

Macedonia's ruling parties, led by Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE, made the first steps towards enacting constitutional changes in July, when a two-thirds majority of MPs in parliament gave a green light for them to proceed.

After the passage of the proposed changes on Monday in...