Editing VMRO-DPMNE (section)

==History==

===Foundation and rise to power===
Following the death of Yugoslav President [[Josip Broz Tito]] in 1980, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]] began to disintegrate and democratic politics were revived in Macedonia. Many exiles returned to then [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|SR Macedonia]] from abroad, and a new generation of young Macedonian intellectuals rediscovered the history of [[Macedonian nationalism]]. [[Dragan Bogdanovski]] who was a proclaimed Macedonian rights movement activist had made a blueprint for a ''Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity''. He had also made a [[statute]], book of rules, and an instruction of how the party will work. [[Ljubčo Georgievski]] and Bogdanovski, Boris Zmejkovski, and a few other activists agreed to make a party for a future independent Macedonia. Under the name VMRO–DPMNE, it was founded on 17 June 1990 in [[Skopje]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Walking on the Edge: Consolidating Multiethnic Macedonia, 1989–2004 |author=Židas Daskalovski |publisher=Globic Press |date=2006 |page=46 |isbn=9780977666232}}</ref> as a Macedonian nationalist and anti-communist party.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Jenkins |editor1-first=Brian |editor2-last=Sofos |editor2-first=Spyros A. |title=Nation and Identity in Contemporary Europe |date=1996 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415123129 |page=255}}</ref><ref name="ptb" /><ref name="Bugajski1995">{{cite book|author-link=Janusz Bugajski|first=Janusz|last=Bugajski|title=Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations, and Parties|url=https://archive.org/details/ethnicpoliticsin0000buga/page/111|year=1995|publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]]|isbn=978-0-7656-1911-2|page=463}}</ref> Georgievski was elected as the party's first president in the constituent assembly.<ref name="ppwb">{{cite book |editor1-last=Gianluca Passarelli |title=The Presidentialisation of Political Parties in the Western Balkans |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319973524 |pages=101–102, 106}}</ref> The party advocated for the independence of Macedonia, the withdrawal of the [[Yugoslav National Army]], creation of a [[Army of North Macedonia|Macedonian defence force]], establishment of an independent currency and international recognition as a sovereign state.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alice Ackermann |title=Making Peace Prevail: Preventing Violent Conflict in Macedonia |date=2000 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=9780815606024 |page=57}}</ref> 

After the [[1990 Macedonian parliamentary election|first multi-party elections]] in 1990, VMRO–DPMNE became the strongest party in the parliament.<ref name="LevitskyWay">{{cite book |author1=Steven Levitsky |author2=Lucan A. Way |title=Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521709156 |pages=125–128}}</ref> It did not form a government because it did not achieve a majority of seats; this forced it to form a coalition with an ethnic Albanian party, but it refused to do so. The party boycotted the second round of the [[1994 Macedonian general election|1994 elections]] claiming fraud in the first round.<ref name="ppwb" /> During the early 1990s, the party presented itself as an extreme right-wing nationalist party with anti-Albanian sentiments.<ref name="ptb" /> It also promoted the irredentist concept of [[United Macedonia]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Loring Danforth |title=The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World |date=1995 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691043574 |page=144 |quote=...the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), an ultranationalist party whose irredentist platform called for the creation of a "United Macedonia".}}</ref> By the mid-1990s, it created offices in most major cities.<ref name="LevitskyWay" /> The party opposed the 1995 Interim Accord with Greece.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jane K. Cowan |title=Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference |date=2000 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=9780745315898 |page=133}}</ref> During that period, the party moderated its rhetoric.<ref name="ptb" /> After winning the [[1998 Macedonian parliamentary election|1998 election]], VMRO–DPMNE formed a coalition government with the [[Democratic Alternative (North Macedonia)|Democratic Alternative]] and [[Democratic Party of Albanians]] (DPA), with Georgievski as Prime Minister.<ref name="ppwb" /> In 1999, VMRO–DPMNE's candidate [[Boris Trajkovski]] was elected President. Under Georgievski, there was an improvement in [[Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations|Bulgaria–Macedonia relations]].<ref name="db" /> He signed a bilateral agreement with Bulgarian prime minister [[Ivan Kostov]] regarding good neighbourly relations.<ref name="emrrm" />

In 2001, the party participated in a government of national unity.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Marc Weller |editor2=Barbara Metzger |editor3=Niall Johnson |title=Settling Self-Determination Disputes: Complex Power-sharing in Theory and Practice |date=2008 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004164826 |pages=275}}</ref> VMRO–DPMNE's government was defeated at the [[2002 Macedonian parliamentary election|2002 parliamentary elections]]. In an alliance with the [[Liberal Party of Macedonia]], VMRO–DPMNE won 28 out of 120 seats. In 2004, Trajkovski died in a plane crash and [[Branko Crvenkovski]] was elected president, defeating VMRO–DPMNE's candidate [[Saško Kedev]]. After losing the 2002 elections, Georgievski left the party and established the [[VMRO – People's Party|VMRO-NP]] in 2004.<ref name="db" />

[[Nikola Gruevski]] was elected as the new leader of the party in May 2003.<ref name="ppwb" /> The widespread public support for EU membership in the 2000s encouraged the party to evolve into a moderate and pro-European party.<ref name="LevitskyWay" /> It also rebranded itself as centre-right and Christian democratic.<ref name="Berglund"/> VMRO-DPMNE opposed the legalisation of the [[Tetovo University]] in early 2004.<ref name="aec" /> The party became the largest party in parliament again after a net gain of over a dozen seats in the [[2006 Macedonian parliamentary election|2006 parliamentary elections]]. With 44 of 120 seats, the party formed a government in coalition with the DPA again, with Gruevski becoming the prime minister.<ref name="ppwb" /> In its 2006 party programme, it emphasised the pursuit of EU and NATO membership as its major foreign policy goals.<ref>{{cite book |author=Christopher K. Lamont |title=International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance |date=2010 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=9780754679653 |page=98}}</ref> On 15 May 2007, the party became an observer-member of the [[European People's Party]].<ref name="db" />

The party won [[2008 Macedonian parliamentary election|2008 early parliamentary elections]]. In the 120-seat Assembly, VMRO–DPMNE won 63 seats and formed a coalition government with the Democratic Union for Integration.<ref name="PEE"/><ref name="ppwb" /> In 2009, the VMRO–DPMNE-led coalition "For a better Macedonia" won 56 out of 84 [[Municipalities of North Macedonia|municipalities]], the party's presidential candidate [[Gjorge Ivanov]] also won the [[2009 Macedonian presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ апсолутен победник со 56 градоначалници |url=http://www.vecer.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=D535691992594942B020D2E4139D5C91 |website=Večer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928154150/http://www.vecer.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=D535691992594942B020D2E4139D5C91 |date=28 September 2011 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |language=mk}}</ref> The party won again in the [[2011 Macedonian parliamentary election|2011 early parliamentary elections]]. VMRO–DPMNE won 56 seats of the 120-seat Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, the party formed a government in coalition with the Democratic Union for Integration in the Macedonian Parliament (mandate period 2011–2015). In 2014, [[2014 Macedonian general election|early parliamentary elections]] were held together with the presidential election, VMRO–DPMNE won again 61 seats of the 120-seat Assembly and formed a [[Cabinet of Nikola Gruevski IV|government in coalition]] with the [[Democratic Union for Integration]] (mandate period 2014–2018).

=== Antiquisation and Skopje 2014 ===
{{See also|Antiquisation|Skopje 2014}}
The party pursued the "[[Antiquization|antiquisation]]" policy between 2006 and 2017, in which it sought to claim [[Ancient Macedonians|ancient Macedonian]] figures like [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Philip II of Macedon]] for the country. The policy was pursued since its coming to power in 2006,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Naoum Kaytchev |title=Being Macedonian: Different types of ethnic identifications in the contemporary Republic of Macedonia |journal=Politeja |date=2014 |volume=11 |issue=4 (30) |pages=123–131 |doi=10.12797/Politeja.11.2014.30.13 |publisher=ismo Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego|doi-access=free}}</ref> and especially since Macedonia's non-invitation to NATO in 2008, as a way of putting pressure on Greece as well as in an attempt to construct a new identity on the basis of a presumed link to the world of antiquity.<ref name="Georgievski">{{cite web |title=Ghosts of the past endanger Macedonia's future |author=Boris Georgievski |website=Balkan Insight |date=27 October 2009 |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ghosts-of-the-past-endanger-macedonia-s-future}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Benjamin Langer|author2=Julia Lechler|title=Reading the City: Urban Space and Memory in Skopje|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgfc1TosZGYC&pg=PA43| year = 2010| publisher = Univerlagtuberlin| isbn = 978-3-7983-2129-8| page = 43 }}</ref> The policy received academic criticism as it demonstrated feebleness of archaeology and other historical disciplines in public discourse, as well as a danger of [[Social exclusion|marginalization]].<ref>{{cite book| author = Ludomir R. Lozny| title = Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HFkueBuO-ucC&pg=PA427| date = 1 January 2011| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-1-4419-8225-4| page = 427 }}</ref> The policy also attracted criticism domestically, by ethnic Macedonians within the country, who saw as dangerously dividing the country between those who identify with [[classical antiquity]] and those who identify with the country's Slavic culture.<ref name="Georgievski"/> Ethnic [[Albanians in North Macedonia|Albanians]] saw it as an attempt to marginalize them and exclude them from the national narrative.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Bulgaria]] also accused the country of falsification of history.<ref name="Georgievski"/> According to researcher Anastas Vangeli, it harmed interethnic relations and the country's international position.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00905992.2010.532775 | volume=39 | title=Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia | year=2011 | journal=Nationalities Papers | pages=13–32 | author=Vangeli Anastas| s2cid=154923343}}</ref> Foreign diplomats warned that the policy reduced international sympathy for Macedonia's position in the naming dispute with Greece.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Social Democratic Union of Macedonia|SDSM]] was opposed to the [[Skopje 2014]] project and alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid, which may already have exceeded 600 million euros.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|title=SDSM Allegations at Government on Skopje 2014 Project|date=30 March 2011|publisher=SkopjeDiem|access-date=30 July 2012|location=Skopje|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104174531/http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-culture-strategy-milestone-or-wish-list |title=Macedonian Culture Strategy: Milestone or Wish List? |website=Balkan Insight |date=15 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Joanne McEvoy |title=Power-Sharing Executives: Governing in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Northern Ireland |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812246513 |page=194}}</ref> In 2012, a statue of the member of the IMRO [[Simeon Radev]], who was also a Bulgarian diplomat, was installed on the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but it was later taken down, and according to [[Makfax]], with the explanation that it had been a mistake.<ref>{{cite web |title=В Скопие: Скулптурата на Симеон Радев била грешка |url=https://www.vesti.bg/bulgaria/medii/v-skopie-skulpturata-na-s.-radev-bila-greshka-4719871 |website=Vesti.bg |language=bg |date=11 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Macedonia Press Review – April 12, 2012 |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2012/04/12/macedonia-press-review-april-aa2-2%C3%A5aa2/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=12 April 2012}}</ref> The party built new headquarters for itself in Skopje in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photo: Macedonia's Ruling Party Builds Itself White Palace |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/03/23/photo-macedonia-s-ruling-party-builds-lavish-hq/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=23 March 2015}}</ref>

=== Macedonian political crisis ===
{{See also|2011 Macedonian protests|2015 Macedonian protests|2016 Macedonian protests|2017 storming of Macedonian Parliament}}
In the 2010s and the 2020s, Georgievski criticised the party several times, seeing it as a personal failure and a fake party without any ideology, etc.<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite web |title=Георгиевски: Ако обичаме Македония, трябва да учим албански |url=https://www.actualno.com/world/georgievski-ako-obichame-makedonija-trjabva-da-uchim-albanski-news_407258.html |date=19 November 2012 |website=Actualno.com |language=bg}} |2={{cite web |url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/26809481.html |website=Radio Free Europe |date=23 January 2015 |author=Marija Mitevska Марија |title=Србизација на Македонија? |language=mk}} |3={{cite web |title=Скопие осъмна с билборд срещу сръбската асимилация |url=https://www.actualno.com/balkani/skopie-osymna-s-bilbord-sreshtu-srybskata-asimilacija-news_454576.html |website=Actualno.com |date=3 February 2015 |language=bg}} |4={{cite web |title=Љубчо Георгиевски:Во Македонија се крие дека Делчев бил бугарски учител – Жртвите за самостојна Македонија ги правиме предавници, а удбашите херои |url=https://infomax.mk/љубчо-георгиевскиво-македонија-се-кр/ |date=6 May 2022 |website=Infomax |language=mk}} |5={{cite web |title=Љубчо Георгиевски му одговоpи на Бориc Стојменов – кажа сè што мисли за него |url=https://info7.news/2022/11/01/lubcho-georgievski-mu-odgovori-na-boris-stojmenov-kazha-se-shto-misli-za-nego/ |website=info7NEWS |date=1 November 2022 |language=mk}}}}</ref> The party opposed the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=CC of VMRO-DPMNE: We will not support the agreement with Bulgaria in Parliament |url=https://meta.mk/en/cc-of-vmro-dpmne-we-will-not-support-the-agreement-with-bulgaria-in-parliament/ |website=Meta.mk |date=30 July 2017}}</ref>

As a result of the political crisis, the political parties signed the [[Pržino Agreement]], which also resulted in the resignation of Gruevski in January 2016.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Otto Eibl |editor2=Miloš Gregor |title=Thirty Years of Political Campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe |date=2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030276935 |pages=263–264}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1=Robert Hudson |editor2=Ivan Dodovski |title=Macedonia's Long Transition: From Independence to the Prespa Agreement and Beyond |date=2023 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783031207730 |pages=32–34}}</ref> VMRO-DPMNE was widely accused of nepotism and authoritarianism and was involved in a series of wiretapping, corruption and money-laundering scandals, with the Macedonian Special Prosecution ordering in 2017 a series of investigations against the party's former leader and ex-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, as well as ministers and other high-ranked officials, for involvement in illegal activities. In 2018, amid ongoing investigations, a Skopje court froze the party's property assets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/court-freezes-macedonian-opposition-s-real-estate-11-01-2018| title=Court Freezes Macedonian Opposition's Property Assets|date=1 November 2018|access-date=13 November 2018}}</ref> Gruevski himself was sentenced to two years in prison for the illegal purchase of a Mercedes car in 2018 but [[fugitive|fled]] to Hungary when he was ordered to serve his prison sentence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nikola Gruevski: Former North Macedonia Prime Minister given fifth prison sentence |url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/06/08/nikola-gruevski-former-north-macedonia-prime-minister-given-fifth-prison-sentence |website=Euronews |date=8 June 2022}}</ref> Nevertheless, he remained an honorary chairman of the party until July 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=EWB|date=22 July 2020|title=Gruevski no longer honorary president of VMRO-DPMNE|url=https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/07/22/gruevski-no-longer-honorary-president-of-vmro-dpmne/|access-date=28 July 2020|website=European Western Balkans|language=en-US}}</ref> On 8 October 2018, [[Gordana Jankulovska]], the former Minister of Interior and senior member of the party, was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally purchasing the Mercedes, which Gruevski had used secretly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Macedonia Court Jails Ex-Interior Minister For Six Years |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/08/macedonia-court-gives-former-interior-minister-six-year-sentence-10-08-2018/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=8 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos |title=The Irregular Pendulum of Democracy: Populism, Clientelism and Corruption in Post-Yugoslav Successor States |date=2023 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783031256097 |page=212}}</ref>

=== Mickoski's leadership ===
[[Hristijan Mickoski]] became the leader of the party on 23 December 2017, replacing Gruevski.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2017 |title=Hristijan Mickoski to Lead Macedonia's Frail Opposition |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/12/23/hristijan-misckoski-to-lead-macedonia-s-battered-opposition-12-23-2017/ |website=Balkan Insight}}</ref> VMRO-DPMNE has been criticised for its hard-line stance against the [[Prespa Agreement]] that was reached in June 2018 between the [[North Macedonia|Republic of Macedonia]] and [[Greece]], which resolved the long-standing [[Macedonia naming dispute]] by renaming the country as [[North Macedonia]] and recognising that Macedonian culture and language are distinct and unrelated to [[Ancient Greece|ancient Hellenic civilisation]]. On 16 October 2018, [[United States Assistant Secretary of State|US Assistant Secretary of State]] [[A. Wess Mitchell|Wess Mitchell]] sent a letter to Mickoski, in which he expressed the disappointment of the United States with the positions of the party's leadership, including him personally, regarding its position against the Prespa agreement and asked him to "set aside partisan interests" and work to get the name change approved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.balkaneu.com/wess-mitchell-to-vmro-dpmne-leader-mickoski-we-are-disappointed-with-you/|title=Wess Mitchell to VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski: We are disappointed with you!|website=www.balkaneu.com|date=16 October 2018|language=en-US|access-date=20 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/233694/article/ekathimerini/news/us-ups-pressure-on-fyrom-opposition-to-ratify-constitutional-changes|title=US ups pressure on FYROM opposition to ratify constitutional changes {{!}} Kathimerini|access-date=20 October 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Read Assistant Secretary A. Wess Mitchell's letter to VMRO-DPMNE Leader Hristijan Mickoski |url=https://mk.usembassy.gov/letter-from-assistant-secretary-a-wess-mitchell-to-vmro-dpmne-leader-hristijan-mickoski-october-16-2018/ |website=U.S. Embassy in North Macedonia |access-date=31 July 2024 |date=16 October 2018}}</ref> Despite the party's opposition, eight deputies of the party voted in favour of the initiation of the constitutional amendments to allow the country's name change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/10/19/xx-macedonia-parliament-votes-on-name-agreement-10-17-2018/ |website=Balkan Insight |title=Macedonia's Parliament Backs 'Name' Agreement with Greece |date=19 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="db" />

In April 2022, a [[Bulgarians in North Macedonia|Bulgarian club]] named after the last leader of the historical IMRO, [[Ivan Mihailov]], was officially opened in [[Bitola]]. After its opening, the club was set on fire, and Mickoski demanded that the arsonist, who was arrested, be released.<ref>{{cite web |title=Лидерът на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ Християн Мицкоски поиска освобождаването на арестувания за палежа на Културния клуб "Иван Михайлов" в Битоля. |url=https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/world/europe/278663-liderat-na-vmro-dpmne-hristiyan-mitskoski-poiska-osvobozhdavaneto-na-arestuvaniy |website=БТА |date=8 June 2022}}</ref> The deputy chairman of the party Alexander Nikoloski expressed later his support to the decision of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, which announced that the club "Ivan Mihailov" is discriminative towards the citizens of the country on national and ethnic grounds. VMRO-DPMNE deputy [[Rashela Mizrahi]] declared also the last leader of the organisation whose name it bears to be a [[Fascist (insult)|fascist]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Influx of Anti-Bulgarian Rhetoric by the Macedonian Elite |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/214801/Influx+of+Anti-Bulgarian+Rhetoric+by+the+Macedonian+Elite |website=Sofia News Agency |date=20 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Игра на клубове: новите български сдружения разпалиха битката на власт и опозиция в Скопие |url=https://www.dnevnik.bg/sviat/2022/10/18/4404550_igra_na_klubove_novite_bulgarski_sdrujeniia_razpaliha/?ref=rss |website=Дневник |date=18 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref> Later, the party submitted a bill demanding that such names be banned for use in the country to increase distancing from fascism and Nazism.<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ предлага закон за "спорни имена на сдружения" след откриването на български клубове |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/svyat/vmro-dpmne-predlaga-zakon-za-sporni-imena-na-sdruzheniya-sled-otkrivaneto-na-balgarski-klubove |website=Dir.bg |date=17 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Лидерът на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ преброи 173 българи в Северна Македония |url=https://www.mediapool.bg/liderat-na-vmro-dpmne-prebroi-173-balgari-v-severna-makedoniya-news340650.html |website=Mediapool.bg |date=8 October 2022 |language=bg}}</ref> The bill was adopted, in collaboration with the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Parliament adopts amendments to laws on associations and political parties |url=https://mia.mk/en/story/parliament-adopts-amendments-to-laws-on-associations-and-political-parties%C2%A0 |website=MIA |date=2 November 2022}}</ref>

The party became the main oppositional force which participated in the [[2022 North Macedonia protests]], surrounding its accession into the [[European Union|EU]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Margarita Assenova |title=The Balkans Are Heating up Again |url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-balkans-are-heating-up-again/ |website=Jamestown |date=8 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Debate Derailed In North Macedonian Parliament Amid Unrest Over Proposed Deal With EU, Bulgaria. |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/north-macedonia-parliament-debate-unrest-eu-bulgaria/31933467.html |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 July 2022}}</ref> In September 2022, the party proposed a referendum under which the friendship treaty between Bulgaria and North Macedonia would be denounced.<ref>{{cite web |title=ВМРО-ДПМНЕ обяви въпроса за референдума, свързан с Договора за приятелство с България |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/politika/vmro-dpmne-obyavi-vaprosa-za-referenduma-svarzan-s-dogovora-za-priyatelstvo-s-balgariya |website=Dir.bg |date=5 September 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia Opposition Seeks Referendum Against Bulgaria Deal |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/09/06/north-macedonia-opposition-seeks-referendum-against-bulgaria-deal/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=6 September 2022}}</ref> The party is against the recognition of the [[Bulgarians in North Macedonia]] as an official ethnic minority, which is [[conditio sine qua non]] the country to become a member of the EU.<ref>{{cite web |author=Лилия Чалева |title=Мицкоски се зарече да напусне политиката, ако българите бъдат вписани в Конституцията на РСМ |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/svyat/mitskoski-se-zareche-da-napusne-politikata-ako-balgarite-badat-vpisani-v-konstitutsiyata-na-rsm |website=Dir.bg |date=16 August 2022 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-09 |title=Новият македонски президент подсказа: Политиката ще е против България – Новини от Actualno |url=https://www.actualno.com/balkani/novijat-makedonski-prezident-podskaza-politikata-shte-e-protiv-bylgarija-news_2217887.html |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=www.actualno.com |language=bg}}</ref> In this way, the party effectively halted the European integration of North Macedonia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Krassen Nikolov |title=Bulgaria says North Macedonia risks EU accession over recent statements |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/bulgaria-says-north-macedonia-risks-eu-accession-over-recent-statements/ |website=Euractiv |date=14 June 2024}}</ref> The party won the [[2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election|2024 parliamentary elections]].<ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia set for rocky ties with EU as nationalists win presidential, parliamentary election |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/north-macedonia-set-for-rocky-ties-with-eu-as-nationalists-win-presidential-parliamentary-election/ |website=Euractiv |date=9 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=North Macedonia's parliament elects Hristijan Mickoski as PM |url=https://www.dw.com/en/north-macedonias-parliament-elects-hristijan-mickoski-as-pm/a-69452674 |website=Deutsche Welle |date=24 June 2024}}</ref> It formed a government with [[VLEN Coalition|VLEN]] and [[For Our Macedonia|ZNAM]] in June.<ref>{{cite web |title=Close Allies, Fewer Albanians and a Moscow Fan – North Macedonia's Govt Takes Shape |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/06/20/close-allies-fewer-albanians-and-a-moscow-fan-north-macedonias-govt-takes-shape/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=20 June 2024}}</ref> On 25 September 2024, the EU announced the separation of Albania from North Macedonia on the EU accession path.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Restelica |first=Bleona |date=2024-09-26 |title=EU Separates Albania’s Accession Path From North Macedonia |url=https://schengen.news/eu-separates-albanias-accession-path-from-north-macedonia/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=SchengenNews |language=en}}</ref> Following this decision, Albania continued its path separately.