North Macedonia PM Mickoski criticises EU over bilateral blockages

North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski criticised the European Union over the long stalling of his country's accession. Speaking at a panel titled “Resilience is a necessity for the whole society” during a summit in Düsseldorf, Germany, he said North Macedonia has faced blockades for 15 years over issues unrelated to membership criteria.

Mickoski said the EU should show more responsibility and act when bilateral issues become obstacles to candidate countries' progress. He called it a weakness of the EU system when a member state can make a candidate's progress conditional on bilateral demands, noting that such pressure need not be military or security-related and can be political or diplomatic.

He added that EU membership should mean accepting new values without giving up one's national identity. He noted that North Macedonia began its EU journey 26 years ago, before Croatia joined, and stressed that it is a NATO member that has aligned its foreign policy with European policies. He said he expects the EU to play a more active role in removing obstacles slowing enlargement.