North Macedonia PM rejects constitutional changes despite EU bid

North Macedonia will continue pursuing reforms aimed at advancing its path toward European Union membership but will not amend its constitution under current conditions, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said.

Speaking to the Macedonian news agency MIA, Mickoski said his government remained committed to domestic reforms while safeguarding national interests.

“We are implementing a reform programme and will resolve internal problems. Here is what I can promise: a decisive and uncompromising fight to improve the lives of citizens, while at the same time protecting our national interests. <...> But I cannot promise to agree to constitutional changes adopted by someone else, without having clear guarantees that this is the last requirement, and without seeing a clear goal,” he said.

Mickoski added that previous governments had assured citizens the country would achieve European living standards if it made major concessions, including changing its flag, amending the constitution, and renaming the country. North Macedonia, he said, had for years yielded to “humiliating demands without receiving anything in return,” leading to public frustration.

The prime minister said he could not predict when “this deadlock” would end.

North Macedonia’s EU accession process is currently blocked by Bulgaria over disputes related to cultural and historical issues. Sofia does not recognise the Macedonian language as distinct, considering it a dialect of Bulgarian, and has also called on Skopje to drop references to the existence of a Macedonian national minority in Bulgaria.

By Tamilla Hasanova