Mickoski: North Macedonia to send diplomatic note to Sofia for bilateral meeting
After meeting Ursula von der Leyen, the prime minister said the note and a request for a meeting were agreed as the initial move to unblock the EU accession process.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski announced that North Macedonia will send a diplomatic note to Sofia asking for a bilateral meeting, following his talks with EU official Ursula von der Leyen about unblocking the country's EU accession process.
Von der Leyen told reporters that lifting the blockage would allow the Union to move quickly with North Macedonia because of the pace of domestic reforms. "When that happens, we can be quick with North Macedonia because reforms are being worked on intensively," she said.
Roadmap only after unblocking
According to the prime minister, von der Leyen emphasised that once the process is unblocked the EU can provide a clearer roadmap — a path that other Western Balkan countries such as Montenegro and Albania have already been receiving as they open and close negotiation chapters.
Mickoski said he accepted von der Leyen's proposal that North Macedonia issue an invitation for talks with authorities in Sofia as a first step toward breaking the deadlock. He asked Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski to send the formal diplomatic note requesting a meeting.
Timcho Mucunski will be in Sofia next week to participate in meetings on Corridor 8, Mickoski added. The prime minister said the diplomatic note should ask the host for time to hold a bilateral meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart.
"I will leave the formal diplomatic language. I received advice from the president; already next week our minister of foreign affairs is in Sofia — the reason is Corridor 8 — to ask the host for a bilateral meeting. I immediately asked the minister to send a diplomatic note and to request a time for a meeting and a session with his colleague so we can start moving the process from somewhere," Mickoski said.
Officials framed the exchange as a practical, step‑by‑step effort to restart progress toward EU accession by combining diplomatic outreach with ongoing reforms at home.
Photo: press material from the event
