Razgovori za idninata vo 12:05 urges national consensus on constitutional changes and a state plan for EU progress

The civic platform Razgovori za idninata vo 12:05 urged political actors to stop using the European Commission's 2026 progress report for short-term political gains and called for a national, cross-party plan to accelerate North Macedonia's path to full EU membership.

Responding to the European Commission's 2026 report on the country's EU progress, the organisers said the EU accession process is a state matter that transcends the mandate of any single government and that no party has an exclusive right to euro‑Atlantic integration or a monopoly on patriotism.

In their written statement the platform said: "It is high time that all political actors stop abusing the European Commission Reports for day-to-day political score-settling. Full membership in the EU is one of the most important state issues that transcend the mandates of one or another political government. No one has an exclusive right to euro‑Atlantic integrations just as no one can claim a monopoly on Macedonian patriotism."

The platform also urged Albanian political groups to move beyond mutual accusations on ethnic matters, warning that identity disputes are often instrumentalised for political fights behind which business and tender interests hide. They wrote: "Albanian political camps have an obligation to break out of the spiral of mutual accusations over strictly ethnic issues, to stop creating identity problems, which are then abused for their mutual political score-settling behind which business, tender interests are actually hiding."

Razgovori za idninata vo 12:05 further pointed to the European Commission's concerns about high-level political corruption and the 2023 amendments to the Criminal Code. "The persistence and existence of high political corruption cannot be criticised by the authors of the scandalous amendments to the Criminal Code in 2023, for which the European Commission in 2026 again notes serious objections, and this concerns parties both in the current government and in the opposition," their statement says.

Priorities and policy proposals

The platform singled out several concrete domestic shortcomings, including a sharp decline in VAT refunds to business: "Of every 100 denars of collected VAT, the state returns only 14.3 denars within the legally prescribed deadline," they noted, calling this an example of weak economic performance.

• Draw up a nationally coordinated state plan for (re)joining the group of countries with Albania and Montenegro;
• Reach a political consensus on necessary constitutional amendments and basic legal guarantees;
• Amend the Electoral Code to introduce a single electoral district and open lists;
• Introduce legal changes to prevent the statute of limitations on prosecutions for crimes linked to political corruption;
• Carry out asset origin checks for current and former elected and appointed officials and their close family members.

The organisers welcomed that a large majority of citizens still support full EU membership despite obstacles and disappointments, and they highlighted positive developments such as inclusion in the Plan for Growth for the Western Balkans, intensified implementation of the Reform Agenda and full alignment with the EU's common foreign and security policy. They warned, however, that the lack of political will remains the main barrier to the internal reforms needed before accession.

Razgovori za idninata vo 12:05 concluded that overcoming narrow party interests and producing a nationally agreed state plan are urgently needed if North Macedonia is to rejoin Albania and Montenegro in the pathway to the European Union.

Photo: Printskrin