Venko Filipche warns of big crisis from September and signals wider SDSM offensive in the Assembly

Venko Filipche, president of SDSM, used a press briefing to warn that citizens face a serious economic shock from September and outlined a new parliamentary offensive from his party. He said SDSM will submit interpellations against Assembly Speaker Afrim Gashi and Local Self-Government Minister Ivan Stoiljkovik and promised to try to block the draft law establishing the "Skopje — European Capital of Culture 2028" project.

Filipche raised alarm about recent pollution visible in Skopje’s rivers and questioned who monitors the wells on the Lepence and Vardar that feed the Rasche water supply. He also criticised the government’s decision in Gostivar to categorise water as fit for technical use but not for drinking, and said the Infectious Diseases Commission only now issued recommendations despite prior warnings about hepatitis A.

On accusations by the prime minister tying past water problems to Filipche’s tenure as health minister, Filipche replied sharply: "In my time there was neither an epidemic nor poisoning. Mickoski can wave his arms as much as he wants."

Interpellations and parliamentary tactics

Filipche accused the Assembly of being turned into a voting machine and said SDSM will use all democratic instruments to challenge the majority. He said the interpellation on Speaker Afrim Gashi concerns repeated breaches of the Assembly Rules of Procedure, while the motion against Minister Ivan Stoiljkovik responds to insults and near-physical confrontations directed at MPs Fatmir Bitici and Mitko Trajchulevski during the session on the government reshuffle.

He also announced SDSM will attempt to block the proposed law that would allow the City of Skopje to set up a separate foundation for the cultural capital project and exempt it from public procurement rules. The draft law was removed from the agenda and is scheduled for reconsideration in September.

On the economy, Filipche warned: "I expect a major crisis. First, we do not know how it will affect the price of electricity; there is an extremely low water level on the Danube. A state of crisis has been declared in Serbia and in Hungary. Hungary is shutting down some nuclear units for power generation because there is not enough water for cooling. That may further affect the price of electricity here. We do not know how the situation with the war in Iran will unfold; if that is not resolved — you see how fuel prices are rising, there are no measures for citizens, I expect a big crisis. When September begins, there are school-related costs, there is no announcement of wage increases, and look at the prices in the supermarkets."

Filipche said SDSM is prepared for elections whenever they come, although the party is not conducting polls on the subject. "I think there will be elections when they run out of money," he added.

On EU accession issues, Filipche accused the government of playing to emotions with references to the Prespa Agreement and said protocols are not part of the negotiating process. He asked: "What happened to the negotiating position? Whatever improvements to the negotiating framework there were, we would have supported them and we remain ready to back any constructive solution consistent with the EU." He also said he was not aware of any "under-the-radar" talks, despite statements from EU Ambassador Michalis Rokas that a solution to unblock North Macedonia’s EU path is being sought. Filipche warned that continued stalling could risk exclusion from the next EU seven‑year budget.

Finally, Filipche demanded transparency about the Hungarian loan: the party wants an account of the commission charged on the loan, how the funds were spent and whether the credit was the most favourable option available at the time.

Photo: press material from the event