Government appoints Arben Fetai as special representative to EU; opposition warns of parallel channels in Brussels
Appointment follows his resignation as vice premier on 1 June; former FM Bujar Osmani and opposition parties question the mandate and overlap with diplomatic channels.
The government appointed Arben Fetai as the state’s special representative to the European Union, a decision that sparked reactions from the opposition and from former officials.
Fetai, who until June 1 was Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance and who submitted his resignation himself by announcing it on Facebook after it emerged that for several months he had not shown up for work while sharing photos from Thailand, announced with the new role that he is returning to Brussels.
On his profile Fetai wrote: "The road to Brussels continues," Fetai wrote on Facebook. He is returning to the city where he had lived before taking the deputy prime minister’s seat at Vredi’s proposal, the government says.
Uncertainty over the mandate and concern about the roles
Former Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs and ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani challenged the mandate and the tasks that Fetai is allegedly to perform, asking which things Fetai will do in Brussels that cannot be completed by the ambassador, the Permanent Mission to the EU and the two ministries — Foreign Affairs and European Affairs.
In his response Osmani stated: "Creating a parallel political channel in Brussels devalues the State Mission, undermines the authority of the ambassador and creates uncertainty over who represents the state before the institutions of the European Union."
The government announced that the appointment aims for the country to have a person who will work on concrete strategic priorities and will contribute to a more effective realization of national interests. In the reply to the media, regarding the competences Fetai will have, it states: "His duties will include representing the state and protecting its interests in international communications, providing proposals and recommendations to the competent institutions, promoting the results of reform processes, identifying political and diplomatic challenges, strengthening the country’s position and visibility in Brussels, holding regular meetings with key decision-makers, diplomatically advocating the enlargement policy and initiating visits of high representatives of the European Union to Skopje."
The government further states that Fetai actively worked on opening opportunities to secure financial resources and deepening cooperation with European institutions, and that he speaks three foreign languages — which, according to them, is an advantage for the performance of his duties.
Reactions from political parties were sharp: Levica accused Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski of rewarding Fetai with diplomatic status and a new state title instead of holding him accountable for the long absence. The Liberal Democratic Party described the move as shameful and scandalous, a slap and spit in the face of citizens, and accused the government of shamelessly spending public money on lucrative or fabricated posts.
Photo: press material from the event
