Hristijan Mickoski in Sveti Stefan: No retreat from national interests or EU goal

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski led North Macedonia’s delegation at a regional summit held in Sveti Stefan, Montenegro, focused on economic connectivity, security and steps to accelerate integration into the European Union.

Mickoski stressed that the government will hold firm on national priorities while continuing to pursue EU membership. He told participants: "we will not back down from the struggle that concerns Macedonian national interests, but also we will not back down from our strategic goal, to be part of the European family, where we belong."

On the practical preconditions for advancing accession talks, Mickoski urged that the Action Plan for Minorities be negotiated first so the intentions of all stakeholders are clear. He said that 26 member states have already stated there is no problem while "one member state says we have a problem. Let's sit with that member state and agree to try to make that document acceptable for all 27 member states, and then in a second phase we will talk about what we as a government expect and what we must deliver, because this document, the Action Plan for Minorities, is a condition in order to continue the negotiation process," Mickoski emphasised.

Defense of the government's record

Mickoski also dismissed criticism from the opposition about this policy area. He said: "I reject all those theses from the opposition, well they are not in power now, we are, yes exactly, but when you were in power you robbed so much, you humiliated the state so much that in these 24-5 months we cannot recover all of that. To recover, we are recovering part of it, we are fighting, we are persistent and we will continue to fight. But everything they sold off and stole and destroyed, unfortunately in these 24-5 months we cannot (recover it), but what for us is the goal, and which I repeat many times in my statements so far, is that today Macedonia is a much better place to live than it was three years ago and that even in conditions of an epic global crisis when many countries in the world are fighting to survive," Mickoski said.

Delegates in Sveti Stefan discussed measures to strengthen regional economic links and security cooperation alongside the political track toward EU accession. Mickoski framed the push as both protecting domestic interests and keeping the country's strategic European perspective.

The prime minister's remarks signal that his government will press for a negotiated technical solution on the Action Plan for Minorities with the dissenting EU member state before any further constitutional steps are pursued.

Photo: press material from the event